


Sander sides but as centaurs

by Annadekiller



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Based on fan art I once saw, Centaurs, I Don't Even Know, My First Fanfic, No Romance, Not Beta Read, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:29:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 40,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26004964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annadekiller/pseuds/Annadekiller
Summary: In a world where centaur are owned as livestalk, Thomas Sanders is just looking for something to do with his free time. His friends suggested he get a job. He's honestly not sure how that led to him buying a sick centaur. Even though he's been fighting for centaurs to have freedom since freshman year of high school, he somehow finds himself buying one centaur after another, rescuing them from abusive and/or neglected situations. Eventually he finds himself with four unique centaurs. (Possibly six. I haven't decided if I want to add Remus and Janus.)
Comments: 148
Kudos: 200





	1. This job sucks.

Thomas needed a job. Not because he needed the money, he had plenty of that. No, what he needed was something to do with his time. 

Ever since his parents had died and he inherited their money and estate two years ago, he had become rather reclusive. He was a loner by nature, only having a few close friends throughout high school, and now that they were off at college he was rapidly slipping from introvert to sad and lonely hermit. 

Recently, his best friend Joan had visited him during break, and seeing Thomas’s current lifestyle, had begun to worry for him. Word must have spread to all Thomas’s friends because now they were all worried for him and saying to get out more. To leave his large, empty house and meet people, talk to people, date people, work with people, anything involving people. According to his friends, video chatting with them wouldn’t cut it. Thomas cares about his friends and he trusts them. He values their opinions and decides to take their concerns to heart.

And so Thomas needed a job. Because if you think he was about to membership card you have another thing coming. Alright yes, he could stand to lose his couch potato chub but if he was going to torture his body he inteded to be payed for it.

Now everyone in town knew that Benny’s was always hiring. It didn’t matter if you lacked work experience. Which was good. Because Thomas didn’t have any. Although Benny’s was generally manual labor, such as loading and unloading merchandise, Thomas applied anyway. He was kind of hoping he wouldn’t be hired so he could tell his friends he had tried the most likely place to hire him and been turned down. Maybe then he could go back to rewatching ‘The Office’. 

He was hired within the week.

************************

It was only the second day of work when Thomas truely realized his mistake. Firstly he was not built for constant heavy lifting. His growing aches and pains were testament to this fact. 

Second issue was the Centaurs. Benny’s had Centaurs working for them. Now the Centaurs themselves werent the problem. Thomas had nothing against Centaurs, quite the opposite in fact. No, the problem with Benny’s owning Centaurs was that they didn’t pay them. 

See Centaurs were not seen as anything more than clever animals. Anyone with half a brain could see that they were no such thing. The fact that they were half human should have made it obvious. Despite this, the majority of people saw and treated Centaurs as though they were simply another breed of horse. Albeit a far less common on.

There were those who sought for Centaurs to have human rights but they had made no difference as of yet. Thomas would know, considering his friends and he had been advocating since freshman year of highschool. 

Therefore it shouldn’t be hard to see why Thomas was so upset that Tuesday night. A large part of him wanted to quit, the other part argued that he should stay. His quitting wouldn’t help the Centaurs. Mayb he should stay, even if just to ensure there was no abuse going on. He tossed and turned the whole night through. By morning, he had made up his mind. 

He would continue to work there while applying for other, Centaur less, jobs. In the meantime he would keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious, seeing as Benny’s was proving to be a shady workplace.

It didn’t take long for Thomas to second guess his choice, only four hours in fact. He regretted it because the lack of sleep and heavy boxes were proving to be a bad combination. Just as he was considered dropping his crate and driving home, he heard a loud, angry voice. 

“Move you dumbass beast!” A burly man, (if Thomas’s memory served right he was a manger) was furiously yelling at a large Centaur. A LARGE Centaur. He was probably eight feet tall, possibly taller. The hair upon his head and tail were a matching color of dark brown while the rest of him was black.

“I have told you. Repeatedly. This quantity of cargo is too substantial for any one Centaur to move.” Replied the massive Centaur. 

Now Thomas knows that Centaurs could obviously talk but he couldn’t say he had ever heard one before now. The other Centaurs he had seen had all been submissive and quiet. As though the thought of talking held no appeal to them. By the stubborn and frustrated look on this one's face it was clear he was not of the same oppinion. 

“Don’t you DARE fucking talk back to me you damn animal. When I tell you to pull something you pull it.” The manager was turning red in the face as one hand reached for his belt. 

Now as frightening as the large angry manager was, his anger paled in comparison to the large Centaur's. He was by far the tallest and largest Centaur Thomas had ever seen, and frankly, Thomas didn’t think angering him was a smart idea. 

The Centaur leaned down a bit to yell back at the manager. “A task much easier accomplished when actually feasible!” 

While his height was enough to intimidate just about anyone, if it didn’t manage do the trick the look of pure wrath most certainly would. 

And yet the manager didn’t even hesitate to slap the centaur directly in the face. Thomas’s eyes blew wide open. He glanced around to see if anyone else was as shocked by this as he was but no one else was even bothering to watch the shouting match. 

The centaur shot back up and Thomas could tell even from across the warehouse that he was barely holding his anger in check. He looks as though he was vibrating with it.

“Don’t you ever talk back at me again. You fucking got that? Or next time it’ll be this.” The manager pulls out what Thomas thought to be a taser from his pocket. The Centaur nods stiffly. 

“Now get the fuck back to work.” The manager stalks off without a backward glance. Thomas is left staring, unaware he is partially blocking a loading ramp.

“Didn’t even make it till noon.” One of his coworkers chuckles. Thomas jumps as the voice sounds right behind him. 

“Jensen owes me a drink” He continues chuckling to himself. Thomas finds his voice.

“Who didn’t make it till noon?” His coworker looks at him funny before nodding his head towards the Centaur, who is struggling to pull a heavy, over packed cart. 

“That giant over there. The ‘taur is awful tempered and gets himself in trouble at least once a week. If the stupid thing had a brain it would have shut up by now. Save itself from trouble.” He shakes his head as though he thinks it a terrible shame. 

Thomas looks back to the Centaur who is painstakingly, slowly dragging the cart across the ground. He is only getting a few inches at a time and the cart’s so heavy the wheels are starting to warp a little. It doesn’t look as though the Centaur wasn’t wrong when he said it was too much weight. 

A bell’s ring echoes throughout the warehouse.,signalling the morning shift to be over. Thomas had alwasy thought the bell signaling the end of class was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard but his aching body leads him to think otherwise. 

The coworker pats Thomas on the shoulder. Thomas’s shouldn’t doesn’t appreciate it. 

“Whelp, I’m gonna go get lunch, you coming newbie?” 

“Uh, I’ll be there in a little bit. I just want to finnish this last load.” Thomas gestures to the few remaining crates. Like hell he does.

“Pff, knock yourself out man.” With that the rest of his coworkers leave the warehouse. Thomas checks to make sure he’s alone. Certain he is, he hops off the loading dock and works his way towards the Centaur. 

The Centaur is glaring at his feet and straining at his harness to move forwards. Upon hearing Thomas approaching his head shoots up. There is a red mark on his face where he was hit. 

Thomas falters. Maybe this was a bad idea, the guy looks like he’d rather be alone. Or killing someone. Also he’s over two feet taller than Thomas. Yeah. This is a bad idea. 

As Thomas is moving to turn about face and get the heck out of there his eyes fall back on the red maring the centaurs face. Again he hesitates. 

“Did you want something?” Snaps a sharp voice. It pierces through Thomas’s thoughts like an arrow. His eyes shift over to the Centaurs. While there is anger still residing in them, there is also a smidge curiosity. 

“I, um, I guess I wanted to see if you wanted any help?” Thomas stutters, suddenly aware it could be taken as an insult. Or maybe he’s just paranoid. The centaur looks into his eyes but doesn’t seem to find whatever he’s looking for. 

“Why?” The larger of the two crosses his arms defensively, though to Thomas it seems more aggressive than anything else. 

“Because I want to help? There is no way that cart is making it all the way to the dock.” Thomas tries to look less frightened than he is. 

The Centaur glances back at all the crates and then to Thomas, who is trying to make himself look sincere. 

“If you truly wish to be of assistance I will not hinder your doing so.” 

“Cool, let me go get a dolly.” Thomas runs off before the moody Centaur can change his mind.  
The Centaur watches him leave and wonders as to whether the newbie is truly intending to help or if this is an elaborate prank. ‘Only one way to find out.’ He decides.

Thomas hurries back pushing a dolly. Neither say anything as he begins to remove the top crates and set them down on the dolly. It’s hard work and Thomas can’t understand how the Centaur was able to move the cart at all. 

“This is crazy. They seriously wanted you to move all this by yourself?” Thomas struggles with one of the heavier crates. The Centaur is unable to help seeing as he is harnessed to the front of the cart and unable to turn about. 

The Centaur huffs. “It is preposterous,” He agrees. “Asking any Centaur to pull more than three times their weight is ill advised.” 

“This is three times as heavy as you?” Thomas gasps. This guy is probably around 2,500 lb. So all these crates have to be-

“No. These crates are five times my weight.” States the Centaur matter factually. 

Thomas gapes. Is this guy an ant? No wait. That sounds dumb. What else is super strong?

“What? Is there a reason you are making an odd face at me?” The Centaur looks confused. 

“Nothing! I’m just impressed.” Thomas quickly turns back to loading his dolly. As it turns out the crates were just the top layer. Underneath them is a large amount of sacks. 

“Dude, I’m gonna take these to the dock and come back for more. If I put anymore on I wont be able to push it.” 

The Centaur nods and goes back to pulling the cart. Being a few hundred lbs lighter allows him to move it a little bit easier but he’s still only gaining a few inches every minute. 

Rushing back Thomas studies the sacks. After testing one’s weight and discovering it weighs far too much for him to lift alone he settles on pushing the sack off the cart and onto his dolly. He is fully absorbed in his work when he hears the Centaur clear his throat. 

“While I appreciate your assistance I feel I must inform you that you are under no obligation to do so and if you continue to assist me you will miss out on your break.”

“Well you’re missing out on your break too, but at least this way we might both get a few minutes of it.” Thomas grunts as he pushes off another sack. ‘What the hell are in these anyway?’

“I do not receive a break.” 

“What?” 

“I said I do not-”

“No no, I heard. Are you saying they seriously don’t give Centaurs any breaks? At all?” Thomas has stopped pulling in favor of staring at the Centaur. 

“No. I said that I don’t receive breaks. As in only me. I’ve been told I’m too…. Talkative, amongst other things, and that the extra work will serve to prevent that.” The Centaur scowles as he speaks.

“So you don’t get a break? They just make you work all day?” Thomas’s anger shows as he forcibly shoves a sack off the cart. 

The Centaur lifts a single eyebrow. 

“This upsets you?” His eyes narrow. “Why?”

“Dude, they are illegally overworking you because they don’t like you talking. That’s all kinds of wrong.” Thomas flops down on the back of the cart with a huff. 

The Centaur looks deep in thought.

“I talk too much. This does not offend you?” 

“Offend? Why would that offend me? You don’t even talk all that much. Heck you should meet my friends. Some of them could talk your ear off.” Thomas hops down and starts pushing the dolly past the Centaur and towards the docking bay. 

“How could talking remove ones ear?” Thomas turns to see if the Centaur is being serious. He is. There is no trace of anything but confusion on his face.

“It’s an expression. It means someone talks so much other people get tired of listening to them and wish they were deaf….I guess. I never really thought about it.” Thomas leans against the dolly while speaking. It’s a good excuse to take a break without revealing just how out of breath he is. 

“I suppose that makes sense. Though it is much less complicated to simply say someone talks too much. Regardless I must thank you. You are quite an extraordinary human.”

“What? I’m not extraordinary. I just explai-” The Centaur holds his hand up, effectively halting Thomas’s words. 

“Not just that. You offered to help me when you are under no obligation to do so and with nothing for your personal gain. You are, in fact, losing your valuable break time and assisting with a substantial amount of cargo. I am at a loss as to why you are doing any of this. I have never before met a human who did not put their own well being above that of another human. Much less that of a Centaur.”

“Uh, I’m just being a decent person?” 

The Centaur shakes his head. 

“This is more than decency. Even a decent person would still not converse with a Centaur, much less a Centaur in physical labor, and yet you have been conversing with me for the past eighteen minutes.”

“Okay so maybe I’m being nice. My Momma raised me right and all that. And anyway, I do expect something out of this.” Thomas smiles up at the Centaur. 

“What? I do not remember you saying you wanted something in return.” The Centaur looks worried and kicks his hind leg restlessly. 

“A name?” 

Silence. 

“You wish to know my name?” The Centaur is frozen and stares at Thomas with an equally confused and surprised expression. 

“I’ll start. I’m Thomas Sanders. Nice to meet you.” Thomas holds out his hand with a smile. The Centaur continues to stare at him. Thomas is starting to doubt himself. 

The Centaur finally snaps out of his stupor. He hesitantly shakes Thomas’s hand.

“ My name is Logan. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” There is a hint of a smile on his face as he shakes Thomas’s hand. THomas echoes it.

“Same here.” Thomas straightens up and looks at the clock on the far wall. Well, we should get a move on if we want that 10 minute break. What do you say Logan?” Thomas settles himself behind the dolly and starts pushing. 

“Indeed” Logan braces his hooves and with superherclian effort begins to drag the cart forward.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Thomas and Logan! 
> 
> Yeah... I'm no good at summaries.

As it turns out Thomas and Logan do get their ten minute break, albeit Logan insists on going back to work afterwards even though no one is back from lunch yet. Thomas surmises Logan is worried of being caught so he doesn’t argue when Logan goes back to dragging heavy carts across the warehouse. Just sitting and watching kind of makes Thomas feel like a lazy jerk, so he starts back on his own work too. 

The rest of the week goes by without a hitch and Thomas keeps a sharp eye out for Logan. He rarely sees him more than once a day but whenever he does he tries to smile or give a small wave to him. Logan never openly acknowledges him but Thomas is certain Logan’s shoulders relax a little each time. 

The weekend comes and goes far too quickly for Thomas, who’s aches and pains are only just starting to ebb away. Regardless monday rolls around and Thomas begrudgingly heads into work whilst wondering what possessed him to start off working full time. His mood is only worsened when he sees the cold and wet weather that lasted his entire weekend has still not relinquished its hold.

He just returned from lunch break when he spotted Logan standing outside the warehouse. Thomas bites back the ‘hello’ on his tongue and tries to stealthily work his way towards the entrance where Logan is, hoping to get closer and maybe talk a little. 

As he nears Logan he hears angry yelling. It’s the manager again, whom Thomas has learned is named Ted. Ted is yelling at Logan and waving his arms around in frustration. Nothing new. What is new is that Logan is quietly taking it. His head hangs down as he silently allows the manager to ramble on. 

Upon getting closer Thomas notices that Logan isn’t standing at his full height in that commanding way of his either. Instead his shoulders are slumped and his hair and shirt are all rumpled. None of which is normal. From what Thomas has seen so far, Logan takes good care of himself. Always prim and proper. Yet here he is looking as though he was recently dragged out of bed. 

Thomas’s concern is only heightened when Logan begins to cough, deep, chest rattling coughs. His arm is wrapped protectively around his stomach. He looks miserable. 

His coughing fit only angers Ted more and he reaches his hand for his belt, whilst yelling what Thomas imagines must be threats. Thomas tries to look innocent and steps out into the drizzling rain where Ted is yelling and Logan is still coughing.

How he wishes he could openly stand up for the obviously sick Centaur. But Thomas has been around enough Centaurs to know that openly advocating them in public tends to backfire on the Centaurs. He doesn’t want to get Logan in trouble. Well, more trouble. 

“Hey boss, I noticed you stuck out here in the rain. Is there anything I can do to help?” Thomas fights to keep his eyes off Logan and on Ted even as he catches Logan glancing up in his peripheral vision. 

“What the hell are you doing out here Sanders. Go back to the loading dock.” Ted pulls out his taser looking thing. “I can handle this useless fucker.” 

Judging by the way Logan tries to shy away from Ted’s reach Thomas is nearly certain the taser looking object is, in fact, a taser. Logan is still strapped to a cart and it prevents him moving away from Ted’s advancing footsteps. Thomas panics a little at the frantic look in Logan’s eyes. 

‘Think, think, think! I’ve got to stop Ted.’ Thomas suddenly springs back to life. 

“Wait sir! You can’t use that on him!” 

Ted slowly turns to regard Thomas with all the burning hate he’d been directing at Logan just seconds before. 

Thomas puts his hands up in an attempt to defuse the situation and swallows nervously. 

“Its raining sir, electricity travels through water. It might taze you too.” 

It’s utter bullshit but Thomas is hoping Ted is too ignorant to know that. As it turns out Ted is.   
He puts his taser back into his utility belt and turns back to Logan. Thomas rushes to reflect Ted’s attention back on himself. 

“If I may, the rest of the men are headed home since we’ve finished with work early today. I’m stuck here since I don’t have a ride for another hour, if you’d like I can take over with the Centaur.”

Ted hesitated as his love for punishing Logan and desire to go home early fight it out. He sighs.

“Think you can handle this Centaur?” 

“Absolutely. My parents owned a Centaur farm when I was growing up.” 

Ted gives a resigned huff and fishes out his taser before handing it to Thomas. 

“He’s a nasty son of a bitch, feel free to use this if you want.” 

With that Ted turns around and heads off towards the parking lot. Where Thomas’s car is parked, waiting for him. ‘It’s just going to have to wait some more.’ Thomas decides as he turns to get a good look at Logan. 

He looks worse up close. There are bags under his eyes and he’s pale and shaking. His shirt is thoroughly soaked and sticks to him like a second skin. Thomas instantly feels awful for him. Thomas has only been standing in the rain for five minutes and he’s already cold and wet. Logan looks as though he’s been out in it all day. 

“C’mon Logan. Lets get you back to the stalls.”

Thomas reaches a hand out to guide him but starts when Logan stumbles back, tripping over his own feet. 

“W-wait!” Logan gasps. His voice sounds painfully rough and the frantic look in his eyes is back. Thomas follows his line of sight and realizes Logan is staring at the taser. In Thomas’s hand. The one reaching towards Logan.Thomas drops it with a start. 

“Whoa dude! I wasn’t gonna taze you!” Thomas slowly raises his hands in a pacifying manner towards Logan. “I’m just gonna help you get back to your stall. Not to be rude but you like all kinds of awful.” 

Logan starts to calm down, though he still glances at the muddy ground where the taser is. 

“Oh.” His hands go up to rub up and down his arms, trying to warm them a little. 

Thomas looks at him critically. For some reason Logan is only wearing his usual thin blue shirt. Nothing else. He should have a rainproof horse blanket or at least a regular raincoat. 

“Here take this.” Thomas quickly shrugs out of his jacket and hands it towards Logan.   
“Wha- I can’t take this. I- I’m-” Logan is cut off by another coughing fit. 

“Take the damn jacket Logan.” Thomas shoves it into his hands. Logan stares at it as if he’s never seen one before but finally gives in and puts it on. 

“Alright let’s go.” Thomas starts for the large building hidden behind another warehouse. Long ago the stalls were a warehouse too, but it's been renovated and now houses Centaurs.

Logan doesn’t protest and falls in step just behind Thomas. Who feels weird to be leading someone to their own home. If he didn’t feel the pressing need to get Logan somewhere warm and dry he would have slowed down to walk side by side with Logan. 

It seems to take forever but they finally reach the stalls where they stop just outside the doors. 

“Alright let's get this thing off you.” Thomas walks to Logan's flank and starts to undo the buckles that keep Logan harnessed to the cart. Logan attempts to undo the ones wrapped around his front but his fingers shake too much for him to get a grip. Thomas finishes his and bats Logan’s hands away to unhook the last buckle.

He is disheartened to see the that the straps have left seemingly permanent marks across Logan's skin.

The cart falls with a heavy, ringing noise that Logan flinches at. Finally free of his burden Logan seems to sag even further. It seems he’s used the last of his energy to pull the cart across the courtyard. Logan sways a little as he nears what Thomas assumes is his stall. 

“Whoa there, just a little further and you can lay down alright?” Thomas coaxes an exhausted Logan into the stall. As soon as Logan enters the stall he painfully collapses to his knees in a coughing fit. Thomas walks back out to look for a cloth to dry Logan with. 

After a little hunting Thomas finds some care supplies a few stalls over. All of which are empty. It’s a huge building, with one long hall across the length of it. Down at the other end Thomas can see a Centaur poke his head out to peak at him. There is the faintest sound of voices drifting down. 

Why is Logan all the way on the opposite side of the building? There’s a good ten stalls separating him from the nearest Centaur. Loud coughing breaks through Thomas’s musing and he hurries back into Logan's stall. It’s entirely empty save for the Centaur laying in it. 

Thomas drops to his knees by Logan's side and shuffles to make sure Logan know he's there. Then he slowly lowers his hand onto Logan’s heaving side. 

“Take deep breaths okay?” Thomas gently rubs the towel across Logan's ribs. Logan opens his mouth, most likely to tell Thomas something but instead begins coughing again. 

Thomas keeps on rubbing while Logan continues coughing. Logan’s panting for breath when his coughing finally lets up. 

“Thomas” He clears his throat. “Go on and head to your home. I am quite capable of drying myself off.” He attempts to take the towel away from Thomas. 

Thomas pulls the towel out of his reach and hands him a second one. 

“I know for a fact you can’t. Even the most flexible Centaurs can’t reach their hind legs, and you don’t look like you’re in any state to be moving around anyway.” So saying Thomas reaches for Logan's back leg. 

“Regardless, I insist you head home” Logan pulls his leg away from Thomas. 

Thomas sits back. 

“Logan, You’re going to get seriously sick if you aren’t dried properly. Besides, how are you supposed to dry yourself when you can hardly breath?

“I don’t need he-” Logan is starting to look upset but Thomas doesn’t notice.

“Yes you do. You can’t do it and you know that. So I’m going t-”

“NO! I DO NOT NEED YOUR HELP LIKE I AM SOME HELPLESS, STUPID ANIMAL!!” 

Thomas flinches back violently at the sudden outburst. Logan coughs again. 

“Logan… I don’t think you’re an ani-”

“Yes you do.” Logan sounds tired and defeated, like all his anger has just melted away. “You all do. To humans I’m nothing more than an object of transportation. A machine.” He gives another cough. “ A broken machine.” He murmurs turning away from Thomas. 

Thomas clasps his hands together and tries to gather his thoughts. It’s clear Logan believes what he said. 

Thomas contemplates the best choice of action. Logan has repeatedly refused his attempts to help. He can’t force Logan to accept it. ‘I mean I could do it anyway, Logan seems to tired to stop me, but wouldn’t that be treating him like an animal? Logan can make his own decisions. Good or bad.’ Decided on respecting Logan’s wish, Thomas stands.

“Okay. If you really would rather be left alone then I’ll go. Just… can I grab you anything before I leave?” 

Logan looks up, a small expression of surprise on his face. His eyebrows draw together and he shakes his head cautiously. 

“Alright then.” Thomas steps outside the stall. “Do you want me to shut the door?” He gestures to the large solid doors attached to the front of Logan’s stall.

Logan looks a little exasperated. 

“Yes. Seeing as they must be shut in order to be locked.” 

Locked? Thomas shakes his head. If Logan wants to lock others out of his stall then that’s none of Thomas’s business. 

“Sure man. Thomas tugs on the heavy doors and slams them shut. Only then does he register what Logan meant. There is a huge padlock hanging from the door handles. Logan wasn’t saying he wanted to lock Thomas out. He was telling Thomas to lock him in.

A full minute passes while Thomas stares dumbly at the lock. Logan’s voice breaks through his thoughts. 

“You may go ahead and lock it.”

“Logan, I can’t just lock you-”

“Please Thomas. If I’m not locked in we shall both suffer the consequences.”

It’s only the hint of desperation in Logan’s voice that convinces Thomas to lock him behind the heavy doors. Thomas lingers by the doors, still hesitant to leave Logan all on his own. He remembers how he agreed to leave if Logan wanted him too and forces himself towards the exit. 

It’s clear Logan doesn’t trust humans and Thomas isn’t about to give him anymore reasons not to. Besides, Thomas had a lot to think on. And a lot of laws to look up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I put out another chapter...Yep.
> 
> I can't describe just how excited I was to see that people were actually reading this. And some even liked it!! Still not going to let my family read it though, lol.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas gets Logan out of there. Also Logan is super sick 
> 
> (I still suck at summaries)

Thomas arrives to work the following day with a lot more knowledge regarding animal abuse laws. Unfortunately laws regarding Centaur abuse fall in the gaping grey area between human and animal abuse. This means laws regarding Centaurs are unclear at best.

So far Thomas has seen Logan slapped, overworked, neglected and threatened with a taser. As far as the law is concerned, unless the physical abuse leaves a lasting mark it’s considered a form of obedience training. Thomas hasn’t noticed any bruises on Logan and its most likely if there were any they would be blamed on Logan’s working in a warehouse. 

Overworking is even harder to prove. The most that would come out of pushing the matter would be Logan possibly getting a 30 minute break. Though the sheer size of Logan was the biggest hindrance. What is considered too much work for such a large horse? Pointing out any neglect would be denied or somehow turned on Logan, Thomas was sure of that.

As for the taser, Thomas had looked into that first. Apparently it was a ‘Centaur buzzer’. It was a mandatory requirement that any company with Centaurs had to have at least one. It’s intended purpose was to stun and/or subdue a Centaur should they become violent. There was an adjustment setting for the voltage, so it could be used on any breed of Centaur, no matter the size.

However most people simply lowered the voltage and used it as a cattle prod, event though the lowest setting was still enough to knock any human off their feet. 

So here Thomas was, at work, ready to find even the smallest of flaws and exploit it. What he needed was proof. Lots of proof of lots of questionable activity. He was hoping to speak with Logan again to see if there was any abuse Thomas wasn’t aware of. It might not do anything but Thomas had to try. 

****************

The end of the day has come and gone and still no sign of Logan. Thomas even saw two other Centaurs pulling the large cart Logan usually pulled. Thomas was a little worried but after overhearing Ted grubling about ‘dumb sick animals’ he realized Logan must have been to sick to work and got the day off. 

Thomas was relieved Logan wasn’t out again today, it was raining harder than ever. He did note that the other Centaurs were wearing proper rain gear though. He was starting to think Logan was the only Centaur being abused here.

The next day comes and once again Thomas can’t see Logan anywhere. He isn’t too concerned until he hears two manager’s discussions as he walks by.

“I’m telling you it’s better if they each have their own cart. Sure the big cart holds more but this way we have a Centaur for each warehouse.”

“I guess that makes sense. I’ll have the boys take the cart to storage then?”

“Don’t bother. I doubt we’ll ever find another beast stubborn enough to pull that thing around.”

Thomas’s heart drops like a stone. What happened to Logan? Why would they get rid of his cart? Thomas can’t hear over the blood rushing through his ears. He stumbles his way between chaotic warehouses towards the stalls. 

The closer he gets the more frantic he becomes and he’s in a mad dash by the time he makes it to the doors. He rounds the doors and rushes towards Logan's stall. The large doors are unlocked and open just wide enough for Thomas to poke his head through.

Thomas holds his breath as he looks in and for one horrible moment he sees nothing. Then his eyes adjust to the dark, musty room and he could make out a large, black body against the farthest wall. 

“Logan?!” Thomas forgets the number one rule of ‘never startle a Centaur’ as he dropped to his knees by Logan's still form.

“Logan. Oh my god. Can you hear me? Logan?” Thomas settles one hand on Logan's lower rib cage and the other on his shoulder. 

Logan doesn’t respond but Thomas can feel him breathing slowly and with no small amount of difficulty. He’s on his side with his legs sprawled hazardly. His front half faces the floor and his entire body is dripping with sweat. He looks as though he is nearly dead.

Thomas isn’t sure if he is going to break down crying or have a panic attack. Or possibly kill something. Kill something. Someone? Yeah. That's what he’s gonna do. He’s gonna go out there and kill the bastards that let this happen. 

“T-thomas?” Logan attempts to lift his head. 

“Ohmygosh Logan! Are you alright?!” 

Logan attempts to push his human torso off the ground. 

“What are- I thought you already left?” Coughing starts and Logan’s entire frame shudders under the onslaught. Logan lays back down in defeat. 

Thomas isn’t sure what Logan means by ‘already left’ but he has a nagging suspicion.

“Logan. I haven’t seen you in two days. I heard you were still sick but then this morning they were talking as if you were leaving or...or.” 

Thomas can’t finnish his sentence. Because the managers were discussing the cart, not Logan. They spoke as though Logan was already gone. Logan had, in the very real meaning of the term, been left for dead. 

Thomas’s previous anger returns twofold. His hands curl into fists as he gets to his feet.

“Hang in there Logan. I’m coming back and then we are leaving this place.” Not staying to see Logan's reaction, Thomas steadily marches his way towards the overseers office. The actual owner himself works there and Thomas intends to speak with him. 

By the time Thomas has reached the office his anger was wavered down from ‘brutally beat someone’ to ‘slowly and patiently turn their life into a living hell’. Which is just a well since Thomas hasn’t been in an actual fight in his entire life. His first and primary concern though, is to get Logan out. 

Thomas marches directly towards the owner's office, where bold lettering announces the name ‘Benjamin’. Thomas throws open the door while the secretary flutters about behind him.

Benjamin's head shoots up, shocked, before his mouth opens to say something. Thomas beats him to it. 

“How much is the Centaur?” 

Silence. Thomas holds Benjamin's eyes.

“Did you just barge into my office to try and buy one of my Centaurs?” 

“Yes. How much?”

Benjamin settles himself back in his chair and waves the secretary out. 

“Depends on which one.” He drawls.

“The one dying in the stalls.” Thomas spits at him.

Benjamin laughs. 

“That one? You must be one of those Centaur rights idiots.” He shakes his head. “At least go get a Centaur worth saving, that one’s been a thorn in my side since the day I bought him. If he wasn’t such a damn monster I’d have sold him off years ago!” 

“How. Much. Is. He.” Thomas’s temper is starting to wriggle loose. 

“Hah! You’re just as stubborn as that Centaur. Maybe you’ll be able to break him after all, he’s al-”

“Seven thousand.” 

Thomas smirks at having finally shut the man up. He watches Ben’s eyes widen in surprise and then narrow in greed. 

“You joking? You know how much I’ve spent on that Centaur? And now I’m just supposed to let him go for seven thousand?” 

“I thought you’ve been wanting to sell him for years?”

“IF he wasn’t so strong-”

“He isn’t. Not anymore. Right now he’s laying in a stall too weak to lift his head.” 

“Nothing a little medicine can’t fix. The vet is already on his w-”

“No he isn’t! You fully intended to leave him there to die in there! And now you have the gall to tell me my offer is too low?”

“I-” 

“No. These are your choices, sell Logan to me for seven thousand, a ridiculous amount of money for a half dead Centaur or pay someone to drag his body away.” 

The owner sits there speechless before gathering himself together. 

“He’s still my property and I want nine thousand for him.” 

“Eight and nothing more.” Thomas is leaning over the desk to look Benjamin in the eye. After a short staring contest Benjamin huffs. 

“Deal. I’ll have the paperwork at your place by friday.”

“Done.” Thomas pulls out his wallet and rips out a check. He slaps it on the table and snatches a pen. He’s scribbling away when Benjamin's voice startles him. 

“So his name is Logan.” He rubs his chin looking lost in thought. Thomas stops writing. 

“You….you didn’t know that?” 

“Its not like I fuckin cared, why would he need a name? Besides, Centaurs have this stupid thing where they don’t tell thier names to anyone. Some sort of ‘rite of passage’. But one does tend to get curious over eight years.”

Thomas ponders this as he silent hands Ben the check. They shake hands and Thomas turns to walk out. 

“By the way Sanders,” Thomas turns to see Ben chuckling. “You’re fired.” Thomas can’t help but laugh a little with him.   
***************************

Getting Logan out of the stalls and into a trailer proves to be one of the hardest things Thomas has done to date. He ends up paying six coworkers a hundred each to help him move Logan. They end up using a small forklift to get Logan to his feet, where they balance him enough to get him into the trailer. Two of them nearly get crushed when Logan stumbles to the side.

Currently Thomas is driving towards the stables he has sitting on his property. He wasn’t lying when he once said his parents used to own a Centaur farm. There hasn’t been a Centaur on the Sander property for over five years tho. 

Thankfully the stables are still in usable condition. Like all Centaur stables, it is built to allow Centaurs to be loaded directly from the trailer into a stall. Thomas backs up to the nearest stall and quickly hops out of his borrowed truck. 

“Hold on a few minutes Logan, I’m gonna clean this stall out first okay?” He’s been talking to Logan the entire fifteen minute ride but still has yet to receive an answer. It seems Logan is in that half awake, half asleep mode. 

Thomas quickly sweeps out the stall and clears out any cobwebs before staring at if critically. He doesn’t have any hay so he tries to think of a substitute bed. Mom. Mom was obsessed with quilting and knitting. 

Thomas checks on Logan and then runs off towards the house. It doesn’t take long to find one of his mother's many blanket stashes. He loads them up into his childhood wagon and starts back to the stables. There he arranges them into a Centaur sized bed. 

It isn’t the comfiest thing but Thomas is sure it's more comfortable than the handful of hay Logan had in his last stall. 

Now to the hard part. Moving Logan again. How the heck is he supposed to move a few thousand lb horse alone? It's not like he owns a forklift. He walks up to where Logan is resting his arms over the side of the trailer. 

It looks like he’s fallen asleep. Thomas is loath to wake him but the doctor Thomas called should be here any minute.

“Logan, I need you to wake up man. We need to get you into the stall so the doctor can look you over.” Logan blearily opens his eyes to look at Thomas. 

“Doct’r?” He slurs. 

“Yep. Do you think you can stand? I swear this is the last time.” Considering Logan was unable to stand less than an hour ago Thomas isn’t holding out much hope. However, Logan is a lot more responsive then he was before. 

Logan coughs and then takes a huge breath. He flexes his fingers and then braces his arms on the trailer. He slowly attempts to get his front legs under him and after a few tries he succeeds. Logan is gasping for breath by this point and his legs are shaking. 

“Doing good Logan, you just have to walk a few feet and you can sleep for as long as you like.” Thomas is hoping his words of encouragement will help. Really he’s just trying to feel like he isn’t as helpless as he is. 

Logan heaves himself up and nearly collapses entirely. He huffs, looks down at his shaking feet and scowls. He takes another breath and clearly throws his all into another attempt. This time he makes it to all four feet. 

His legs shake violently and Thomas fears he won’t be able to manage the few steps into the stall but Logan surprises him by steadily working his way off the ramp. As soon as he’s off the ramp Thomas directs him to the makeshift bed. 

Logan slumps down with a sigh of relief. 

“Here.” Thomas drapes a heavy quilt over Logan's quivering form. He has no doubt Logan would be arguing that he could do it himself but Thomas speaks before he can. 

“I’m gonna help you Logan. Like it or not. This has nothing to do with you being a Centaur and everything to do with you being half dead. You can yell at me when you get better okay?” 

So saying THomas tucks the blanket around Logan's form and resolutely ignores his scowl. Logan might have tried arguing anyway (his stubborn streak ran deep) but before he can the doctor peers into the stall. 

“This the Centaur?” He doesn’t wait for a response before walking in and setting down his bag. He looks Logan over critically. Logan looks all kinds of grumpy and upset and he would have been intimidating if he weren’t in such a sorry state.

“Yeah, this is L- the Centaur.” Thomas remembers what Ben said about Centaur names and stops himself mid sentence. 

The doctor hums in acknowledgement and starts pulling his things from his bag. 

“How long has he been like this?” 

“Um, I’m not sure. He was coughing real bad two days ago but I didn’t see him again until a few hours ago.” 

The doctor raises a questioning eyebrow at Thomas. 

“I only just brought him here,” He gestures to the trailer still parked in front of the stall. “ He was at Benny’s before.” 

The doctor nods and turns back to Logan, who seems to have zoned out again. Thomas paces anxiously while the doctor proceeds with the rest of the exam. Ten minutes later the doctor stands to his feet. 

“Definitely Influenza. Both his respiratory systems are infected and he is severely dehydrated. I’m going to start him on an I.V. but there's no saying if he’ll pull through.” The doctor makes his way towards where his van is parked as he speaks. 

Thomas is nearly frantic at the thought of Logan not making it. 

“Is there anything I can do? Does he, like, need a special medicine? I assure you I can afford it.” 

“The medicine is in the I.V., all you can do is make sure he stays warm and eats and drinks properly. He’s a big Centaur, one of the largest ones I’ve ever seen. He’s likely still got some fight left in him. Chances are he’ll be alright.” 

The doctor steps up into the back of his van and starts pulling out an I.V. stand and bags of what Thomas assumes are a mixture of saline and whatever medicine it is that Logan needs. 

“You keep all that in your van?”

The Doctor laughs. 

“Not usually, but from what you described on the phone, I made a few assumptions.” 

He hands Thomas some of the clear bags containing liquid and walks back to the stall while pulling the I.V. stand. Afterwards it only takes a few minutes to set everything up and get the I.V. in Logan. 

Logan has fallen back asleep and only awakens long enough to register the I.V. being inserted before closing his eyes again. The doctor instructs Thomas how and when to change the bags and then is on his way leaving Thomas alone with the sleeping Centaur. 

Thomas isn’t all that keen on leaving Logan when he’s in such bad shape so he plans out what all he wants to grab from the house before settling in the stall for the night. He ends up spending the night anxiously monitoring Logan's uneven breathing while pretending to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm not a medical expert so this might all be wildly inaccurate. I have been hospitalized for pneumonia though and it totally sucked.  
> (Off topic, how the fuck do you spell tazer/tazed? 'S' or 'Z'???)
> 
> Also..  
> I'm so sorry this took so long to post! I meant to do it way sooner but life happened and then I kinda panicked about it all and waited even longer.   
> I pulled it together though so here's another chapter! I can't say when the next one will be out so I apologize in advance. I'll try to get it out sooner than this one.   
> Thank you all for the support I got on the last two chapters. I hope I haven't chased you all away by taking so long.   
> Have a great day and stay safe!


	4. Chapter 4

Thomas awakes the next morning with a start, unsure of when he fell asleep. He frantically checks on Logan. To his immense relief Logan is breathing easier and is finally sleeping peacefully. 

Thomas decides to let Logan sleep on and make him eat whenever he next wakes up. 

Thomas spends most of the morning looking over his parents assets. Most of their money is tied up in other companies or savings. To be honest, Thomas doesn’t understand most of it. He supposes he should have had his parents lawyer explain it to him but at the time he had been too upset over his parents' death. 

So here he is, trying to make sense of numbers and names he doesn’t know the meaning of. With an exasperated huff he closes his laptop. He’s been putting this off for...well, two years. What’s a few more hours? Not that he’ll know what he’s doing then either. 

Thomas rubs his forehead trying to push off an oncoming headache when he gets an unsettling feeling. Like he’s being watched. Thomas turns to see Logan quietly regarding him. Studying him. 

“You’re awake?” Thomas smiles and sets his laptop beside him so he can shuffle on his knees towards Logan. There is no reply and Thomas notes how Logans eyes are glazed over a little. 

Thomas reaches out to feel Logans forehead like his mother once did for him. It feels burning hot and Thomas quickly retracts his arm. The Doctor mentioned Logan’s previous fever would most likely worsen and that if or when it broke Logan would be on the road to recovery.

Thomas readjusted the blankets on Logan and stood up to bring him some food. Thomas had had the sense of mind to online order food last night. Mainly food that was easy on the stomach. It had been delivered earlier that morning and Thomas had painstakingly made a vegetable soup he found in an abandoned cookbook lying around his kitchen. 

He had taste tested it, decided it wasn’t the worst soup he had ever tasted, (A close second though) and set it on a low burner to stay warm.

Now Thomas dishes some up and hurries back to the stable. He had been hoping if he went fast enough maybe Logan would still be awake but no such luck. He shook Logan gently and then harder when Logan didn’t wake up. 

“C’mon dude, this stuff doesn’t stay warm forever you know.” 

Logan opens his eyes with a groan and mumbles something that sounds like a complaint. Thomas holds the bowl under Logans nose in hopes the smell (kinda good) will grab Logan’s attention. 

It works and it isn’t hard to convince Logan to eat after that. He falls asleep halfway through so Thomas just sets the soup aside and straightens up the blanket on Logan's shoulder. 

Still feeling useless Thomas start trying to think of all Logan is going to need once he’s better again. Thomas’s parents might have owned a Centaur farm but really they just rented out the stables. Thomas is in the dark as to what all a Centaur needs.

He ends up google-ing it. 

*********************************

Logan ends up sleeping for the rest of the day and Thomas gets more and more worried with each hour his fever doesn’t break. As the night drags on the fever gets worse. Thomas has changed out the blankets twice now, soaked through with sweat. 

Logan tosses about restlessly and Thomas stays close by his side. (though out of reach from his hooves, which twitch at random) Thomas stays vigilant all through the night until about four in the morning. When Logan starts to settle down.

Thomas checks and is ecstatic to see the fever is gone. If he wasn’t so exhausted he might have done a ridiculous dance. As is, he falls asleep almost instantly, relieved to no end that Logan is in the clear. 

*************************************

It's half past noon when Thomas awoke by a quiet “What the hell?”

Thomas sits up with a snort and looks around blearily. He relaxes some when he sees it’s still just Logan and him. 

“You’re awake?” Thomas asks through a yawn.

“Unless this is an elaborate dream then yes, I do believe I do appear to be awake.” Logan shifts to sit up straighter. 

Thomas smiles upon hearing this. When was the last time he heard Logan say anything? Thomas has been talking to Logan nearly nonstop for two days. Mostly out of nerves, but this is the first time he has gotten a response. 

“How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?” 

Logan looks perplexed. 

“I feel as though I was hit by a large blunt object. What is going on? Where are we? Why are you here?” That last question almost sounds like an accusation.

“Oh, um, you got sick. Like super sick. As in Influenza in both sets of lungs or something.”

“And we are?” Logan gestures to their surroundings.

“Oh, we’re in my stables,. Or my parent’s stables I guess.” Thomas shakes a little as all the pent up nerves and stress of the last two days begin to hit him.

Logan looks even more confused. 

“I’m in your stables? Why? I would remember if that happened. How is it tha-” 

“I bought you!” Thomas blurts. It’s been bothering him. How Logan will react to Thomas legally owning him. Would he be mad? 

“I bought you and I didn’t even ask you but you were so sick and they were gonna sell your cart and then Ben wanted a shit ton of money but he doesn’t deserve it cause he was gonna let you die and then the Doctor said you might but you didn’t and why doesn’t anyone know your name?” Thomas is panting by the end of his rant. Wild eyes staring into Logans.

Logan stares at Thomas. 

“I-” Logan swallows and starts again. “I’m afraid I didn’t catch any of that. Could you repeat it? Slower? And in depth?” He looks so confused and lost. Thomas feels his nerves start to flow away. He takes a deep breath.

“You remember the night when I walked you to the stalls?”

“Yes.”

“Well after that I didn’t see you at work for two day. Then I overheard the managers talking about how they were gonna scrap your cart and I thought something bad must have happened to you. I went to the stalls and you were sick. Really sick.”

“They were going to scrap my cart?” Logan asks, eyebrows pulled together.

“Yeah. Logan….They though you were going to die. Hell, I thought you were gonna die.” 

“I see.” Logan seems to be thinking this over carefully and Thomas worries this might be too heavy a topic to be having right after waking up. 

“Logan I can explain later if this is bothering you.” 

Logan waves him off. 

“I am not bothered. I was clearly ill seeing as I recall none of this. It was logical for them to assume I would die. Although I am perplexed as to why they would want to scrap the cart. It was a well made, heavy duty cart. Surely they would have some use for it.” 

“Wha- Logan! Are you being serious right now? They legit left you for dead!” 

“I am always serious.” Logan retorts sharply. The fierce look Logan is giving Thomas is enough for Thomas to drop the matter. For now.

“Well it bothered me. So I bought you from Benny, brought you here and called a Dr. who set all that up.” Thomas gestures to the I.V. stand. 

Logan has frozen and is staring straight at Thomas. It’s silent for a full two minutes while Thomas waits for Logan to process whatever it is that put that shocked look on Logan's face. 

“You mentioned earlier but I didn’t think you actually…” A look of confusion passes over Logan's face. “You bought me?” His voice is nearly too quiet to hear. 

Thomas is starting to think he would prefer it if Logan was mad then whatever this was. 

“I bought you.” He confirms just as quiet. “The papers arrive today.” 

Logan still hadn’t moved. 

“I’m sorry Logan.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have taken you away from your home. God, I didn’t even let you say goodbye.” 

The full weight of what he has done hits Thomas like a truck. He bought a Centaur. He bought Logan. He bought a fully sentient being and in so doing destroyed the life Logan had been living the past eight years. 

Thomas is on the verge of tears when Logan speaks again. 

“Say goodbye? To whom? Why are you so distraught Thomas? I am not angered if that is what you fear.” 

“You aren’t upset?” Thomas peaks out of his hands. He tries to discreetly wipe away tears.

“I wouldn’t say that.” He huffs. “For the first time in eight years I have no idea what is going on or what I am to do and this upsets me greatly. However I am impartial to having left Benny’s.” 

“Oh.” Thomas leans back against the wall. They both sat in silence for a considerable amount of time before Logan saw fit to end it. 

“So what do I do now Thomas?” 

“You’re asking me?”

“You own me Thomas. I assume you have a reason for that.”

“Not really, no.” Thomas admits. “I just wanted to get you out of there. I never wanted to own a Centaur. Hell, I promised myself I never would.” 

“I see.” Logan looks downcast by this. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

“What?” Logans entire face scrunches up in confusion and Thomas laughs. He hopes it doesn’t sound as hysterical to Logan as his laugh sounds to him. He’s still kind of reeling over the past twenty four plus hours. 

“It's a way of asking what someone is thinking.”

“It is implying that one would sell their thoughts? For a penny?” 

Thomas laughs longer this time. Logan crosses his arms in frustration. 

“The lack of logic in that phrase is astounding. Whatever the case I was wondering as to where I will end up next. It is most likely another warehouse.” His face falls again and Thomas’s laugh dies in his throat. 

“A warehouse? You wanna go back to working in that again? Heck I was only there for about three weeks and I’m never working in one again.” 

“I don't see what else someone would want me for.” 

“Someone els- Logan I don’t plan on selling you.” 

Logan looks up surprised.

“You said it yourself that you have no need for me. It is only rational that you would sell me and get your money back.” 

“What? I didn’t get you out of there just to put you into another warehouse with a different name!”

“Then why did you buy me?” Logan snaps. There’s the anger. Thomas knew it would come sooner or later. 

“I told you. I wanted to get you out of that awful place.” 

“FALSEHOOD!” Logan yells. “I am a Centaur! All anyone sees us as good for are tools to assist their personal gain! It is preposterous to suggest otherwise!” Logan sits up straight and Thomas can see the fire burning in his eyes. He is clearly expecting a fight.

Thomas gets to his feet calmly. Logan seems a little wary.

“Despite what you think, there are people out there who care about your well being without wanting anything back, Logan. Maybe you’ve never met or seen one but we exist. Thomas walks towards the door. 

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me though. You don’t trust me and I don’t blame you. But I’d like to prove you wrong. If you’ll give me a chance.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. It’s greasy and has pieces of hay in it. He scowls. “I’m gonna go inside for a bit. Feel free to look around the stables if you need anything.” 

Thomas makes his way out of the stall and heads towards his house. He desperately needs a shower, (maybe two?) and more importantly sleep. Logan will be fine on his own for a bit. 

Thomas mentally goes over his to do list. Step one: shower. Step two: sleep. Step three: get Logan to trust him. 

****************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not sure everyone put together the name thing. It's basically me copying the series. Obviously we all know their names but I thought it would be fun anyway. Anyway here's a new chapter! I really enjoy writing this story and have a good idea of where it's going but if any of you have a cool idea you think would fit in, I'm open to suggestions. Oh, and I'm sorry if (when) I spell something wrong. I don't have a beta reader so I'm basically just relying on spell check. English is my first language so I have no excuse. 🤷♀️
> 
> Stay safe ya'll, I hope you have a good day! 😊


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived!! Say hello to Patton! (I don't use his name in this chapter so I just wanted to make sure there is no confusion on who he is. Other wise it would be a surprise.)   
> Also a warning for this chapter: It has a lot of cursing and derogatory names. Also angst. Lots of angst.  
> You have been warned. 
> 
> Enjoy!

****************************

Logan gets better in stages. First he stops sleeping for days at a time. Then his appetite returns. A week later the Dr comes to check on him and declares him ‘healthy as a horse’. Logan was not amused. It would seem he doesn’t like puns. 

Per the Doctors advice they spend the day after his visit outside. Thomas brings his laptop. He’s supposed to be managing his parents company/stock market. He hasn’t been making much progress. He still hasn’t figured out what any of the numbers or charts mean and he’s starting to think he never will. 

“You had better not be buying more things.” Logan trots up to where Thomas is sitting balanced on a fence. 

When all the things Thomas had ordered online for Logan arrived it had become clear that most of it was bullshit. Centaur body wash? Hoof shiner? Yeah… No more sleep deprived shopping for Thomas.

“I’m not buying anything. I’m looking over these stupid charts and shit. NONE of it makes any sense!” 

“Charts? What are they for?” Over time conversation between the two has become much more relaxed and casual. 

“Heck if I know. My parents were involved in all these companies and research teams and I’m supposed to have been managing it for like, two years, but I still can’t make any sense of it.” 

“May I?” Logan reaches for the computer.

“Knock yourself out.” 

It hadn’t been too shocking to discover Logan was smart. Thomas had figured from the way he spoke that he must be clever. What he didn’t expect was that Logan was some kind of genius. Thomas had yet to find a problem that stumped him. 

“You are most likely confused because this chart is just part one of twenty. Where the other nineteen are I am unsure.” Logan makes to hand the laptop back but Thomas stops him. 

“You understand it?”

“Yes.” 

“They aren’t just the result of someone face smashing a keyboard?”

Logan looks baffled. “No? Why would someone type with their face?” 

Thomas isn’t listening. He’s busy wondering why he hadn’t thought of this before. 

“Logan. I will pay you to figure this out for me.” 

Silence. 

“What?” 

“You want to do something around here right?” 

Thomas and Logan have purposefully been avoided the topic of why Thomas bought Logan and what Logan’s new ‘purpose’ is. Logan won't accept Thomas’s answer for the first question and Thomas doesn’t have an answer for the other one. 

Thomas thinks he might have the answer now. 

“Logan, what do you say to being my accountant?” 

“Your account- Thomas I have no training in that field. I am unqualified for it.”

“You understand this thing! What other qualifications do you need?”

“Thomas, I don’t even have a high school degree.”

“Well I do and I’ve spent two years looking at that chart and gotten absolutely nowhere.”

“Thomas this is highly unprofessional.” 

“What, hiring someone smarter than me to figure out stuff I can’t?” 

“Thomas.” 

“Look. You’re smart. I’m….not as smart. If you can help me with this I see no reason not to.”

“Thomas, you are not being realistic. Why are you even suggesting this instead of hiring an actual accountant?”

Thomas looks away, trying to find a way to explain. He takes a deep breath. “Because my current accountant is my Uncle.” 

Logan raises an eyebrow. “I see no reason why that would be a problem.”

“I don’t really trust him.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “He kinda forced me into hiring him when my parents died. I’ve tried to ask him how all this works several times but he just blows me off and tells me he’s got it under control. He runs everything without me and I haven't been consulted for any of it. I’m pretty sure he plans on sending me packing as soon as he can.”

Logan hums. “That is unfortunate. But surely another accountant-” 

“I don't trust them Logan! The second I hire someone they go running to my uncle or he recruits them. I want someone I know. Someone I trust.” 

Logan blinks. “And I fall in that category?” He looks shocked. 

Thomas sighs. “Yes Logan. I trust you. And I certainly trust you more than a random accountant.” 

Logan looks thoughtful. “Yes, I can see why that would make sense. Seeing as you own me it would be nearly impossible for me to work for your Uncle behind your back. Not to mention incredibly foolish. I can see why owning your accountant would be most effective.” 

“What? No, I meant that I actually trust you. It has nothing to do with my owning y-” 

Logan carries on. “Of course no matter how conveniently this may be there is still the matter of my not having a degree. Also I am a Centaur. Telling anyone as much would most definitely hurt, if not destroy, your reputation.” 

Thomas holds up his hand. “That shouldn’t be a problem. See, I’m not required to have an accountant. I just need one to help me keep up with all this. So technically you could stay behind the scene and no one would need to know. I would make the changes but you would be telling me what actually needs to be done.” 

“How can you trust that I know what to do? I’ll say it again. I am not trained or qualified.” 

Thomas stops and thinks for a moment. “How about this. I hire a qualified accountant and give him the same work as you. Then we can compare. If you and him have the same results a month later then I’ll switch to just you. I could probably get my hands on some kind of official test to determine if you would qualify too. If you still wanted to that is. Either way, are you willing to give it a shot?” 

Thomas wouldn’t be pushing this except that he can see Logan actually wants to try it. If there is one thing he has learned about Logan in the past week it’s that if Logan disagrees with something he shuts it down. Immediately. 

Logan hesitates. 

“Fine.” He concedes. I suppose that is a valid plan.” 

“Awesome.” 

*******************************************

As it turns out Thomas was right. Logan is a great accountant. In fact he had the same results as the professional but within half the time. Thomas tried to pay him double for that but Logan flat out refused. In fact, Logan refuses to be paid at all. According to him he was ‘simply earning his keep’.

They fought it out and Thomas eventually gave in. Mostly because he found a loophole. If Logan was working for his current lifestyle, then damn it, Thomas was going to ensure it was a good lifestyle. Nice room, nice clothes, a fancy computer. (‘you need it for work so yes, it is essential’) Logan wasn’t very happy about it but neither was Thomas so they both learned to live with it. 

And so weeks passed and Logan and Thomas settled into a routine. Logan did his thing with accounting and gave Thomas lists of all the people and   
businesses to contact (and what to say to them) in an attempt to catch up on two years worth of neglected work. It would seem his Uncle only bothered with the richest, most profitable companies and had ignored all the rest. As of yet, Thomas hadn’t spoken with his Uncle about any of this. And his Uncle had yet to notice.

It was now three months since Thomas had bought Logan and they had grown to be quite comfortable in each other's presence. Somewhere during the second month when they had had to pull several all nighters they had gone from coworkers to friends. 

It was mid way through the third month when a wrench was once again thrown into Thomas and Logan's lives. 

It started on a Saturday. Thomas was meeting with the owner of one of the many private companies his parents had been benefactors towards. Logan had come along, via cargo trailer. (basically a large four wheeled trailer with no roof or walls, just wooden railings.) 

“Sorry I had to park here Logan, you gonna be good to wait here?” 

“Of course Thomas. It should be educational to watch the on goings of the fair from this vantage point.” Logan was referring to the traveling fair they were currently parked behind. The only place to fit Thomas’s truck and the trailer was back with the loading trucks for the fair. 

“Alright then, have fun. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Do not forget to mention that funding will be dropping next year due to the new taxing laws.” 

“Got it. Thanks Logan.” Thomas hurries off towards the predetermined meeting point, the notes Logan gave him tucked away in his briefcase . Logan was left alone in the trailer. Logan is attempting to decipher what could possibly cause children to be drawn to what is clearly overpriced entertainment.

He is leaning towards it being a combination of both light, music and simple ignorance when he sees an ill kept and rather round man come storming around a tent, hidden from the view of the circus goers. 

Logan's eyes widen when he sees the man is dragging with him a young man. No. A Centaur? Logan gasps. It's a Centaur but instead of being part draft horse (like Logan) he is part pony. A Shetland if Logan had to guess. His hair is a golden blonde and curls about his face. Logan can just make out a few freckles. 

Logan watches raptly. Naturally he knows there are other breeds of Centaurs but he hasn’t personally seen man and he definitely hasn’t seen one so small. The little pony stands nervously twisting its hands. It looks raptly at the ground and seems to be biting its lip.

Logan can practically smell his fear. The man gets up in the little Centaurs face. 

“Clair said you were speaking again. Is that true?” He hisses low enough that Logan strains to hear. The pony keeps wringing his hands and takes a step back. He doesn’t answer.

“I’m only going to ask one more time. Were you speaking again?” The man grabs the Centaurs arm and squeezes it tightly. The pony squeaks and gives a panicked nod. 

The man jerks hard on the pony’s arm, forcing him to step closer to where the man is leaning over him. 

“You dumb bitch. You’re too stupid to learn aren't you?” He says it like a statement instead of a question. Logan's scowl deepens and he can feel his anger rising up. 

“P-p-please” The little Centaur begs. “Clair walked off again! I had to tell the kids how to get on so they could ride. I’m sorry!” Logan looks closer and he can see a small saddle on the pony. He must be one of the fair attractions.’

“Shut up!” The man shoves the pony back where his legs give out. Forcing him to look up at the man. 

“You know what happens when you fucking talk midget.” He pulls something out of his pocket and advances on the shaking Centaur. 

Logan is on his feet before he knows it. He is only mildly relieved to see it isn’t a Centaur taser. 

“S-sir please don’t! I had to speak! A kid could have been hurt!” The pony is trembling violently.

“Open.” 

“I won’t speak again! I’m sorry! I never should have said anything! I’m just a dumb pony!” Said pony has his hands up in a futile attempt to ward off the man. 

“Damn right you are. Now open your mouth or I won’t take out till we leave this fucking town.” The man is holding some kind of mouth-guard looking thing. Except it looks metal. And sharp. 

Logan is starting to see red. 

“Hey Logan! You won’t believe what happen- what’s wrong?” Logan whips his head towards Thomas who starts a bit under his furious gaze. 

Then a muffled cry breaks through the silence. Thomas and Logan whip around to where the man is forcibly putting the metal object into the Centaurs mouth. The Centaur has tears streaking down his face and is weakly trying to push the man off him. 

“What the hell?” Thomas whispers under his breath. 

“I’m going to kill him.” Logan murmurs lowly. Thomas has no doubt that Logan will, or at the very least, maim this man. Thomas wants to help him. The Centaur laws Thomas had looked up three months ago pop up in his mind. 

Whatever the man just put in the pony’s mouth is most likely illegal but being a traveling fair means by the time any official get around to looking at a case the fair will be far, far away. Thomas is going to have to go about this differently. 

“Hold up Logan. If we do one wrong move this pony will be gone for good. Let me handle it okay?” 

“What? Did you not just see what that man did?!” Logan waves his arm towards where the man has released the pony and, Thomas notes, is watching them. Right then Thomas knows that this man’s cruelty goes deeper than even his greed. Money won’t be enough. 

“Quiet!” Thomas snaps as harshly as he can manage. Logan rears his head back and stares in shock. Thomas makes eye contact and silently begs Logan to play along. Once Thomas is sure Logan isn’t about to scream at him (which he totally deserves) he walks up to the man who has been watching their interaction. 

“Centaurs am I right? Always talking out of turn.” He forces a smile at the man. He smells even worse than he looks.

“Damn strait. How’d you get yours to respond like that? That things a beast!” 

Thomas shrugs and prays he looks relaxed. 

“It's a hobby of mine. What about yours? He any good?” Thomas hates himself for how the Centaur immediately shrinks and gives a whimper.

“This bitch? He can’t shut up to save his life. If it weren’t so expensive I’d have had his voice taken years ago, you know what I mean?” The Centaur looks ready to faint of fear and Thomas can see Logan in his peripheral vision. He only has a few seconds before Logan tears into this guy. 

“How much is he?” 

“What?” 

“I said how much is he?” 

The man laughs. “What the hell would you want a defective pony for?” 

“I told you. Breaking Centaurs is my hobby.” 

The man smirks. Thomas wishes he wouldn’t. His breath is even worse now.

“You think you can break this one here?”

Thomas gestures back to Logan. ‘God I hope Logan looks like he’s been broken and not still like he’s gonna go on a murdering rampage.’

“I already broke the largest, why not the smallest?”

The man laughs again. “I like you kid. I’ll make you a deal. Twenty Five thousand and he’s yours.” 

It’s an insanely high price and the man knows it. The pony is probably worth Fifteen. Not that Thomas minds but he can’t blow this by being too eager. ‘Don't look desperate, don’t look desperate.’ Thomas chants internally.

“Twenty and you have yourself a deal.” 

The man’s eyes blow wide. Then he gets a slimy grin on his face. “You got yourself a pony. Make sure he gets what he deserves yeah?” 

Thomas nods. “He will, let me go grab my check book.” 

****************************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter confirms that I know NOTHING about how businesses work. I tried to make it somewhat accurate but I'm pretty sure I failed big time. When I mention Thomas's company it's supposed to be some kind of insurance/investment company. I have no idea. Please forgive my stupidity. As for the rest of this chapter I apologize for the cliffhanger. The chapter was getting long so I cut it short. I'm just so excited that I finally got to introduce Patton! When I saw the fan art that inspired this story the artist hadn't drawn a pic of Patton but I can't help but think he would be a pony. 🤷♀️ Also I like angst. Not sure if that was clear yet. I'm sorry Patton. Forgive me guys. 
> 
> Anyway, I can't thank you all enough to the kudos and support you have given me. I really appreciate it. I hope you all have a great day and stay healthy!


	6. Chapter 6

Thomas rushes to the passenger seat of his truck and tears a check out as fast as he is able. Thomas tries to slow himself as he walks back. It's a serious fight not to look at Logan as he does. 

“When do you wanna come back for him?” The man asks as he looks over the check.

“I’ve already got a trailer here, might as well do it now.”

The man glances over at Logan. He seems to come to the conclusion that Thomas can make it work and shrugs.

“I’ll go grab his papers then.” He walks off to a nearby trailer and Thomas tries to steady his shaking hands. He is never going to get used to the buying and selling of sentient beings. When he bought Logan his anger had carried him through. This time he’s more scared than anything. 

Thomas looks the pony over. The poor thing is shaking like a leaf and has dried tear tracks trailing down his face, which looks to be scrunched up in pain. He’s staring resolutely at the ground and Thomas prays nothing will go wrong.

It seems like forever but as soon as Thomas sees the man returning with his horrible grin it's suddenly not long enough. The man hands Thomas some crumpled papers. 

“Here you go kid. Have fun breaking him. Wish I could watch.” 

Thomas studies the papers and they are definitely the correct ones. Thomas is literally holding this Centaurs future, his life, in his hands.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Thomas chokes out. He tries not to wince at the handshake. 

“Not so fast kid.” Thomas’s stomach plummets straight to his feet.

“You bought a pony. Not a t-shirt.” He gives Thomas a wink. It takes Thomas’s brain a while to realize the man means the t-shirt the Centaur is wearing. It showcases the fair's name in fancy lettering. 

“Oh.” Thomas manages to gasp out. 

“I’ll be taking that midget.” The man holds out a smelly hand towards the pony who shakily pulls off his shirt and hands it to the man. 

The man gives one last unsettling smile. “Keep the muzzle, you’ll need it. Now I’ve got to get going. Let people know the pony ride is closed and all that. Good luck to you kid.” With one last sneer to the pony he leaves.

Thomas nearly falls over as soon as the disgusting man is out of sight. “Oh my gosh it’s over..” 

Thomas promptly throws up. 

Logan is out of the trailer in an instant. He rushes up the pony and lowers himself to be face to face with him. 

“Let me see what’s in your mouth.” Logan demands. The small Centaur immediately pulls away while shaking his head wildly. 

“It’s made to inflict pain when you open your mouth, correct?”

The pony nods. Logan gently reaches for the pony again. “Pull your lips back.” 

The pony does as he’s told and Logan studies the contraption that runs along his teeth and into his mouth. 

“I see.” Logan murmurs. “To be removed it must be pinched in two exact positions or else it will tear at the gums and roofing of your mouth.” 

Logan reaches in and pinches the metal carefully. 

“Open your mouth.” He tells the pony. 

The pony does with a whimper and Logan carefully retracts what looks like a torture device out of medival times. 

Thomas wipes his mouth on his sleeve. “What the fuck is that?” He rasps.

“It pierces the mouth in multiple places and unless one continually bites down it will dig these thorns in deeper.” Logan tries to sound impartial but Thomas can detect the anger and horror underlying his words.

“We...we should get rid of that thing.” Thomas gasps. 

“Indeed.” Logan sets it down on the pavement before him. 

Then Logan rears himself fully into the air, balancing on his back legs. Thomas and the pony stumble back. Logan comes crashing down with the force of several thousand pounds and his large hoof lands directly on the metal contraption. 

It breaks with a loud crunching sound and Thomas momentarily imagines it to be the previous owners head. Logan was truly a force to be reckoned with. He dusts himself off as though the metal had somehow contaminated him. 

“There. It is dealt with.” He deadpans. With that he walks away and back to the pony. “Are you bleeding?”

The centaur jumps a little at being addressed after such a show of power. He shakes his head no. 

Thomas walks over to face the pony too. He doesn’t look like he is hurting anymore but his arms are wrapped around his chest in a protective manner. Oh yeah. His shirt. 

Thomas rapidly pulls off his jacket and holds it out to the smaller centaur. 

“Here. Put this on.” 

The pony stares at him wide eyed but makes no move to take the jacket. Thomas feels guilty. Of course the pony doesn’t trust him. Not after all those horrible things he said. Speaking of..

Thomas swirls about to face Logan. “Logan I am SO sorry for telling you to shut up. I know how you feel about that and I never should have said that. I should have found some other way but I wasn’t thinking clearly and kind of panicked.”

“It is alright Thomas. I’ll admit I was initially shocked and upset but I now understand you had worthwhile intentions. However, should you like we may discuss it at a later time.” 

Logan then turns to glare at Thomas. “But never do it again.” He adds fiercely.

“Promise.” Thomas makes a cross over his heart. He then turns to the pony who is watching their interaction, puzzled. 

“I didn’t actually mean any of what I said. I was trying to get you away from that man without him hurting you more. I’m sorry.” 

Now the pony looks down right flabbergasted. He opens his mouth to speak and promptly closes it with a wide eyed look.

“You may speak, should you have anything to say. As you can see I am far from ‘broken’. Logan makes quotation marks when he says ‘broken’. 

“Yeah, you can talk all you want.” Thomas and Logan wait to see if the pony will say anything. It’s clear he is nearly bursting with questions. There seems to be an internal battle raging in the centaurs mind. 

“You really mean that?” He asks quietly.He hunkers down as though awaiting a blow. 

“Every word.” Thomas offers the jacket again. The centaur takes it this time. 

“I suggest we continue this conversation back at home. This place makes me uncomfortable, as I imagine it does to our companion as well.” Logan is looking around as though someone may attempt to jump him. Not likely. 

“You can say that again.” Thomas agrees.

“This place makes me uncomfortable? Thomas are you having trouble hearing? That is most concerning in a person of your age.” 

Thomas laughs, only slightly hysterical. 

“I’m good Logan. Let’s get going.” With that Thomas lets down the ramp to the trailer. In Logan’s previous haste he had completely forgone the ramp and jumped over the railing instead. 

Now Logan trots up the ramp and turns around. 

“What are you waiting for? Do you have something you wish to do before we depart?” He’s looking at the smaller centaur. 

Oh yeah, Thomas didn’t even think about that. He doesn’t think the pony has any possessions though, considering he couldn’t even keep the shirt on his back. 

“Instead of answering, the pony walks up the ramp and settles down beside Logan. It's a little cramped but not too bad. 

Thomas latches the ramp back up. 

“Alright, let's get this show on the road!” 

“Thomas, we are leaving the show. Not taking it with us. How would we even do that?” Logan says in exasperation. 

Thomas can just make out the pony smiling.

**********************************

Thomas listens to the pony and Logan talking on the trip home, but he only catches words here and there. It’s a forty minute ride and Thomas does his best not to speed in impatience. He is semi successful.He keeps glancing over at the papers in the passenger seat and tries to settle his heart's frantic pace that comes from the knowledge that he has, once again, bought a Centaur. 

So much for his ‘I’ll never be one of those people who sell and buy centaurs’ policy. He can’t say he regrets buying Logan or this new centaur though. They had needed help and buying them had been the only way. Thomas just hopes his friends will understand. He still hasn’t told them about Logan. Just mentioned he had hired and befriended an accountant.

Now that there are two centaurs it won’t be long till he has to confess. Speaking of two centaurs. Thomas if gonna have to clean out a second stall. And dig out more of his mother's blankets. Logan didn’t use all that many any more though. Thomas had bought a king sized mattress padder and ,although Logan had originally said it was too soft to sleep on, Logan had quickly fallen in love. Not that he would admit it.

Note to self: buy another mattress padder. And shirts. Lots of shirts. 

When they arrive at home Thomas drives the truck directly up to the stables. Logan lets down the ramp and he and the pony start down. 

“I’m gonna get to work on a stall, wanna show him around Logan?” 

“That sounds satisfactory. What do you say?” Logan turns to the pony, who is looking far less nervous. The pony gives a slightly strained smile. 

He nods and is careful to avoid Thomas’s eyes as he and Logan walk past him towards the fields. 

The nice thing about Sander Farms is that, for one, it isn’t a farm. It's more like a ranch. The fields are more like a meadow and go on for miles. Logan had taken to going on morning strolls and Thomas sometimes joins him. Not that he can keep up with Logans fast trot. He just jogs behind. 

That's where Logan is headed now. Good. Thomas gets the feeling this pony hasn’t seen any meadows, or at least never ran in one. Logan hadn’t. 

Thomas heads into the stalls and debates where to put the small centaur. He’s stuck between next to Logan or across. He finally decides on across. According to Logan, at Benny’s he’d been placed, far away from the other Centaurs as a form of punishment. Some sort of isolation tactic. Logan had insisted it hadn’t mattered because none of the centaurs had liked him anyway. Thomas still isn’t sure if Logan’s terrible social skills are a side effect or the cause. 

Mind made up Thomas goes off to find his cleaning supplies. Logan likes to keep the place somewhat clean so they have plenty. 

It’s almost two hours later when Logan leads the centaur into the stable. Thomas glances to the stable doors and notes it’s nearly dark out. When did that happen? Good thing he had just finished the stall. 

It had been thoroughly scrubbed out and Thomas had put together a hay bed Logan had once shown him how to make. It was basically a bed sheet stuffed with hay. Thomas had put a bunch of quilts and fluffy blankets on top and even stuck a pillow or two as well. 

“Hey guys. Great timing. I just finished up.” Thomas turns to the pony. “Did I miss anything? I’m not sure what you’re used to.” 

The pony looks into the stall with wide eyes. He opens his mouth but only a squeak comes out. 

“I believe that means he likes it. At least I think that’s what it means. I’m not one hundred percent certain, more like eighty five.” Logan looks down at the centaur. “You do like it, do you not?” 

The pony nods. Thomas is pretty sure he had tears in his eyes. 

“Great! Like I said though, let me know if I missed anything.” Then Thomas turns to Logan. 

“Do you wanna get started on dinner or should I?” Thomas and Logan had taken to having dinners together. They rarely ate the same food but the company was nice. Thomas figured tonight he could deal with just salad. 

Logan looks thoughtful for a minute. “I suppose you had better. I don’t believe he is comfortable being left alone with you yet.” Logan gestures to the other centaur. Fair enough. Thomas nods and heads out. He doesn’t miss the slightly horrified look the pony gives Logan. 

As Thomas removes large stalks of lettuce from the freezer he thinks about how to gain the pony’s trust. It will clearly be harder than it was with Logan. For starters Logan had talked with him from the get go. Thomas is relieved to have Logan here to help him. The pony seems as though he trusts him. 

Thomas is mildly curious as to whether the small Centaur has told Logan his name yet. It would be pointless to ask though. During Logan’s first week with Thomas, Thomas had asked why centaurs withheld their names. Logan’s reply had been-, “I’m not entirely sure why. I do know that it is an ancient tradition. It signifies trust. Even we centaurs don’t tell each other our names unless we’ve known one another for a bit.” 

Thomas was rather honored that Logan had trusted him with his name within their first meeting. He’s not even sure the other centaurs at Benny’s had known Logan’s name. 

Thomas is quite certain it won’t be so simple to learn the pony’s name. ‘Patience.’ He thinks. ‘There isn’t any rush.’

Thomas adds in the last of the apple slices and carries the large salad bowl into what Logan and he had deemed the dining room. It’s actually just a large empty storage area they stuck a table in. He stares critically at the salad bowl. ‘Is it enough?’ The centaur is comically smaller than Logan but he still might eat a lot. Even if he doesn't, Logan eats enough that he might need another, albeit smaller, salad anyway.. 

Thomas shrugs and heads back to the kitchen. The more the merrier right? Salad doesn’t make the best leftovers but so long as there are apples involved Logan will gladly eat it anyway.

************************************************************************************

“Do you truly find the room satisfactory? If not I’m sure Thomas or I could find something more to your liking.” Logan isn’t entirely sure why he is asking. He’s rather certain the pony has spent his life living in roughly the same conditions that Logan once did. He is starting to think that the pony’s anxiety is catching. As impossible as that is. 

The pony looks at the room again and back at Logan. “It's great.” He whispers. Logan hasn't been able to get more than a few words for every two sentences he says. And nothing above a whisper. 

“There is no need to fear speaking here.” Logan does his best to sound comforting. It really isn’t something he’s good at. And that's compared to his other social skills. The pony seems to appreciate it nonetheless, even if he doesn’t seem to believe him. “Thomas truly doesn’t mind. As you can see I speak quite freely. Thomas has never told me to stop. Well, baring today. Though I can not entirely blame him.” 

Logan is still a bit sore about that. He knew it was only to get the poor pony away from that awful man, but it still hurt. Still brought up too many memories. Memories of a time (try three months ago) when people only valued him for his size and strength. When his thoughts and (occasional) feelings were ignored and looked down upon. 

Logan shakes himself out of his head. “However, you should do as you please. You are free to remain silent just as much as you are free to speak.” The Pony looks a little surprised at this. 

“Okay.” He murmurs. Logan isn’t sure if that is to signify that the Centaur will speak or that he won’t. He doesn’t get the chance to ask before he hears Thomas shout across the stables. 

“Dinner is ready! I’d say get it while it's hot but yanno’... salad.” Logan rolls his eyes. “Come along.” He ushers. He tries to slow his usual gate as the pony trots alongside him. It had been a bit of a struggle whilst showing the pony around. Logan was nearly twice the pony’s size, and his legs were far longer.

Logan was glad he had the practice of slowing to walk alongside Thomas. Though they rarely walked anywhere, so it was still rather new. ‘Just pretend you’re pulling that damn cart.’ 

Logan’s mood significantly dropped, as it always did when he thought of Benny’s.. 

The pony tries to make up for Logan’s long stride by trotting faster but he seems to be tiring. Considering the day he’d had it wasn’t surprising. Logan can sympathize. Upon entering the dining room he sees that Thomas is just as tired as the two of them. He seems to still have some residing guilt as well. 

“So… are you guys hungry?” Thomas tries to smile but it falls short. Logan settles himself down on the ground facing the table. This way he is roughly the same height as Thomas when they both sit at the table. (give or take a foot) The pony comes up awkwardly to stand by Logan. He’s still a little shorter but not by too much. 

Thomas blinks himself out of a temporary stupor. (He’d been wondering if Centaur chairs were a thing and had then gone off on a tangent that ended with him contemplating the pros and cons of buying a therapedic back pillow.)

“Just dig in. I made a lot so no worries.” When no one immediately moves Logan takes initiative and begins piling a plate. He passes it to the pony and works on making one for Thomas and then himself. 

This leads to them awkwardly eating while trying to avoid eye contact and listening to the symphony of their combined chewing. It's awkward as hell. Even if only the pony and Thomas are aware of it. Logan seems oblivious. 

“Did the meeting with Mr. Parkson go well, Thomas?” Logan asks. 

It takes Thomas a bit to remember what Logan is referring too. ‘Oh yeah! The whole reason we went into town today.’ 

“It went well. He actually wanted to know if we were interested in joining this new company plan he’s working on.” 

Logan looks intrigued. “What did you say? Did he specify the plans?”

Thomas shakes his head. “No, he didn’t give me details. He just asked if I was interested and I told him I’d have to ask you.” Logan looks deep in thought. Thomas turns his attention back to the pony. 

The pony seems to have zoned out. He’s pushing around an apple slice on his plate while gazing blankly at the table. Thomas clears his throat loudly causing both Centaurs to start from their respective thoughts. 

“I’m pretty tired so I'm gonna head to bed now.” He stretches and sort of wanders his way towards the door. ‘This is so damn weird. Am I supposed to give a speech? Ask him about his day? At least I knew Logan a little when I bought him.’

“Wait!” Pipes up the pony. He flushes pink as Logan and Thomas both immediately turn to face him. 

“I- uh…” The pony quickly starts trying to pull off Thomas’s jacket. His rushed movements caused his arms and hands to get stuck in the jacket. 

“Woah, uh… hold up. You can keep it.” Thomas says before the pony can get himself too worked up. “Seriously, it’s yours. I don’t need it. I have plenty, in fact you’d probably fit my shirts, I could go grab you something to sleep in real quick-”

The small Centaur quickly begins shaking his head. He’s stopped trying to escape the jacket and is now just standing with his arms all tangled up. He keeps opening his mouth as though to speak, but always closes it. He finally turns a pleading look to Logan.

Logan seems confused but turns to address Thomas. “I don’t think he wishes for you to bring him one of your shirts. Also I believe he is stuck.” 

Thomas almost smiles at that and walks over to the pony. He wordlessly pulls out one arm from where it’s wrapped around the other and helps the centaur free himself. The pony seems embarrassed but accepts the help without pulling away, although he does flinch a little at the first touch. 

“There. You just hang on to that. Tomorrow we’ll deal with getting you some shirts. Maybe you can use one of Logan’s tonight or something.” Thomas doesn’t miss the skeptical look Logan gives the pony. He seems to be comparing their sizes. 

Now free’d, the pony backs away and shyly grins at Thomas in thanks. He still looks uncertain but Thomas deems it as progress. 

“Whelp. I’m gonna hit the hay. Sweet dreams you two.” 

“I was under the impression you had a mattress?” 

The pony and Thomas snicker.

***************************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so late! I tried to make up for it with a longer chapter so I hope that helps. I was gonna post sooner but I lost a ton of this story in a freak internet crash and spent two days in mourning. I eventually managed to get it back but then I had to go on a 12 hour trip (both ways!) so I didn't have time to update. 
> 
> I hope you all like this chapter. Even if it is.....angsty. I realize that all the characters don't behaving like they do in the youtube series but I'm trying to take those characters and put them into my world. AKA how they would react had they been through traumatic situations I've put them through. (Also I hate how everyone forgets that Logan is the only one with an actual temper. I don't know, it just always bothered me.) 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you all are staying healthy and happy. I'll try to get my next update next week. Peace out y'all!


	7. Chapter 7

***************************************************

Thomas wakes early the next morning. He feels refreshed and happy even as a nagging sensation tells him he shouldn’t. He feels as though he should be upset over something. In fact, Thomas distinctly remembers feeling guilty and worried before falling asleep. 

Thomas starts on his breakfast after determining to talk to Logan and see if he’s forgotten something. Memories from yesterday suddenly hit Thomas like a sack of bricks to the face. He very nearly drops his coffee. 

‘Oh my God, I bought someone yesterday. I bought him and he’s sitting in the stables right now!’ 

Thomas nearly trips over his own feet trying to get out the door. He doesn’t have a plan beyond ‘make sure this wasn’t a fever dream’, so when he rushes out of his house only to see Logan and the pony walking around the nearest field he instantly freezes on the spot.

Definitely not a fever dream then. The pony is there doing his best to keep pace with Logan and huffing with the effort. Logan seems to take notice and slows down. Thomas decides to go back inside before either spots him. 

Now that he can see that he has, in fact, bought a pony, he needs to have a plan. He can’t go about this the same way he did with Logan. 

Originally Logan and Thomas had fought. A lot. They had argued relentlessly. They just couldn’t seem to agree on how Logan was to be treated. Regularly Centaurs were expected to do whatever sort of work their owner wanted and in return they receive free food and housing. Centaurs did not get a say in this. They were slaves. Simple as that.

Thomas did not think of Logan as a slave, he did not want a slave and Logan wasn’t exactly keen on being one either. This should have meant they were in perfect agreement but it turns out their opinions on what constituted as a slave differed. Thomas wanted to treat Logan like anyone else would be treated if they lived with him. Logan seemed to take this as an insult and Thomas couldn’t figure out why. 

It was during one intensely frustrating fight, after three days straight of arguing, that Thomas had finally understood. They’d been arguing back and forth for quite a while and Logan had been furious. He had finally stood and shouted at Thomas that he was “Not a pet to be pampered”. Thomas started to understand him after that.

It was then Thomas saw that Logan didn’t really understand friendship or kindness. Logan only saw exchange. As a slave Logan had done what he told and received food and housing in return. Logan wasn’t able to comprehend that Thomas wanted to give all that for free. 

In the end Thomas realized it wasn’t about what he thought was fair. He needed to do what made Logan most comfortable. In Logan’s case that was giving him a job. Thomas couldn’t jump from ‘owner’ to ‘friend’ without hurting and confusing Logan. Thomas decided to try an employer and employee status instead and it had worked. Over time, Logan and him had become friends. They had just needed that stepping stone to get to that stage. 

Thomas thinks it would be reasonable to make similar arrangements with the pony. Provided it’s what the pony wants. But how is he supposed to know what the pony wants? He doesn’t think the pony will stand up for himself any time soon. What if the pony is upset with Thomas? After all, he did drag him off with no warning. What if the centaur doesn’t want to be here? What if he’d had people he knew at the fair? What if Thomas had just forced him away from his family?! What has he done!?

Thomas freaks out. It takes him all of two minutes to race into the stables where Logan and the pony have returned from their walk. It’s only after bursting through the doors that Thomas remembers the number one rule his parents tought him regarding Centaurs. Never startle them. 

He figures out why when the pony starts hard enough to knock himself right off his feet. He tumbles to the ground with a yelp while Logan jolts violently backwards, bumping up against the wall. Thomas finds himself relieved they are on the opposite side of the room and that he is not within range of either’s hooves. ‘Centaurs are super jumpy. Got it.’

“Thomas!” Logan exclaims while glaring at him. He has a hand over his heart as though to stave off a heart attack. “What are you doing charging in like that?” He’s trying to compose himself but the nervous shuffling of his feet gives him away. The smaller Centaur has backed himself against the wall by Logan (keeping his distance so as to not get stepped on.) and is staring in alarm at Thomas. 

Thomas, still wracked with guilt, tries to deescalate the situation. “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to burst in like that! I didn’t mean to scare you guys.” He holds his hands up placatingly and takes a few steps back. ‘I really need to get a grip and think things through more.’

Logan brushes off his shirt and clears his throat. “No harm done. I suggest you avoid startling Centaurs in the future though. It could result in a serious injury.” That Thomas would be the only injured party goes unsaid. 

Thomas gives an uneasy smile. “Yep, no more slamming doors. Got it.” 

The pony pulls himself to his feet, using the wall for assistance. Thomas winces. The poor guy is never going to feel safe here if Thomas can’t get his act together. 

“So?” Logan asks. Thomas blinks stupidly. “So what?” Logan huffs. “So what is it that had you barging in here like some sort of senseless barbarian?” 

The smaller centaur stares at Logan horrified. He seems to calm down when he sees Thomas ignoring Logan's insult. To be honest Thomas is used to it. Logan doesn't pull his punches. 

“Oh, right. Well I was wondering if I could talk to…..you.” Thomas gestures at the pony. He hadn’t been sure how to address him but he was pretty sure ‘The Pony’ would be insulting and he certainly wasn’t going to take his previous owner’s approach. 

The pony straightens his shirt as he composes himself. The shirt is clearly borrowed from Logan but fits rather well, other than how long it is. Logan’s torso is a good bit longer so the pony has it bunched up at his waist. He clears his throat. “Okay.” 

Thomas sees how he keeps glancing at Logan so he asks Logan to stay. Not to say he didnt originally plan on asking him anyway. “I do believe that would be most beneficial.” Is Logan’s response.

The three settle down at the table. Both Centaurs look at Thomas expectantly. Thomas can’t help but feel as though he’s been thrust onto a stage without having read any of his lines. Which is a very accurate comparison now that he thinks of it. 

“Right.” Thomas clears his throat. “So I wanted to clear up some things and maybe ask a few questions, if that’s alright.” The pony shifts a little but gives a small nod. 

“Did..” ‘Deep breaths Thomas.’ “Did I take you away from your friends? Or your family?” Thomas blurts out. He looks up, eyes pleading. Where before his tongue felt like lead, it now feels like a feather. A feather caught in a hurricane. It seems to have a mind of it’s own and he finds himself unable to stop his stream of words.

“I didn’t mean to but I didn’t even think to ask you about how you felt. I was in such a rush to get you out of there that I never asked you if you even wanted to leave. I mean sure I thought it was the right thing at the time but what do I know? I don’t know anything about Centaurs! I don’t know anything about you! I’m just like all those other people. Treating you guys like you can’t decide things for yourselves. You must hate me! I wouldn’t blame you cause I'm terrible andIshouldhaveaskedbutIdidn't-” 

“Thomas.” Logan waits for Thomas to quiet down. “You are rambling. We can not understand you.” Logan looks a little concerned. Thomas pulls himself together. He looks up from his previously flailing hands to face the pony. The Centaur’s face has softened and he’s got this kind look in his eyes. That isn’t what Thomas expects to see.

“It’s alright. You didn’t take me away from anyone.” The small Centaur says softly. Comfortingly. Wait. Is he trying to comfort Thomas?

“I was in a- a bad place. You-” He takes a deep breath. “You did what you felt was right. Thank you.” The pony’s hand twitches towards Thomas as though to touch him but he pulls it close to his chest instead.

Thomas and Logan are both surprised at the pony’s comforting words. The poor guy has been constantly nervous and frightened (almost entirely thanks to Thomas) and here he is trying to comfort him. Thomas brings his focus back to the pony’s actual words. 

“Really? There wasn’t anybody there you wanted to see again? Say goodbye too?” Thomas finds it simultaneously relieving and sad. He’s relieved that he didn’t just separate the Centaur from his family or friends. It makes him sad that the pony didn’t have any to say goodbye too. 

“No.” The pony conferms. Thomas deflates.

“Oh thank heavens. I’ve been terrified I stole you away from your family all morning. It’s kinda why I barged in here.” Thomas looks sheepishly at his feet. It really was good to know the pony didn’t have any ties to the fair. 

“Look man, I’m sorry all this happened so fast. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now. I mean, only yesterday you were working at a fair and now you’re sitting in this big empty barn with just me and Logan.” Thomas thinks Logan looks a little insulted at that. 

“I imagine our company is preferable to that of a repulsive, cacafuego, corpulent, poor excuse of a man he was with before.” Thomas and the pony stare at Logan and then each other. ‘Did you understand that?’ Thomas mouths to the pony. He shakes his head. 

Resolving to google ‘cacafuego later, ‘How does he even know words like that?’ Thomas continues. 

“Right. I agree, I think. Anyway, I was trying to say that he must be shocked by everything that’s happened lately.” Thomas addresses the pony again. “I’d like to put your mind at ease a little. I promise you that you’ll never have to worry about being sold again.” Thomas hesitates. “Unless you want to be.”

The pony nodds. “Okay” He looks Thomas in the eye. “So what do I do here?” 

“Huh?” 

“My job. What do I do here? I’m- I’m not really good for much. I’m sure I can’t do whatever it is Logan does. I’m not very strong…” The pony looks away and rubs his arm. 

Thomas decides to let Logan correct him about his job later. Instead he focuses on the question he’s been asked. “Anything you are particularly good at? A hobby or something?”

“Uh.. besides giving rides to kids? I usually just gave rides but sometimes I would cook or sometimes bake. I’m not great at it or anything but it was fun to try making new things. Besides that I didn’t really do-”

“You can COOK!?” “You know how to make food?!” Thomas and Logan yell simultaneously. Thomas is leaning over the table and both his and Logan’s eyes are wide open. 

The pony draws back, startled at the yelling. He tries to answer but only a squeak comes out. He settles for a hesitant nod.

“Can you make more than salad?? Or sandwiches?” 

Another nod. 

Thomas is ecstatic. “You're hired! I mean, if that were something you wanted to do….” ‘Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes..’

The pony looks between Thomas and Logan and gives a confident nod. “Okay.” 

Thomas barely stops himself from giving a celebratory dance. ‘No more microwaveable meals!’ He isn’t even sure of the last time he had a home cooked meal. Of course there is no guarantee the pony will be any good at cooking but Thomas really doesn’t care. He’ll buy a cookbook. 

It was only a few minutes after the pony agreed that Thomas remembered the stables didn't have a kitchen. Why would they? 

Thankfully there was an old breakroom the stable hands once used and the oven and fridge still worked rather well. Since the room was not made with Centaurs in mind Thomas decides to create a kitchen in the ‘living room’. By living room he means the large empty space holding only a large table with one chair. It looks pretty sad.

With a little help from Logan (okay, a lot of help), Thomas moves the oven, fridge and kitchen appliances into the far corner. After staring at the sad little set up he orders some cabinets and counters online. In the end the kitchen still looks drab but both Centaurs seem uncomfortable with him spending any more money so Thomas holds off on buying more stuff. ‘Baby steps’ He tells himself. ‘We’ll get there one day.’

************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was asked to give the link to the art that inspired me so here it is! (forgot to give it last time.)
> 
> https://fangirltothefullest.tumblr.com/post/177410750790/sanders-sides-centaur-au-logan-is-a-big-tol-sturdy
> 
> Also if you google 'sanders sides centaur au' you get a surprising amount of results. Who knew? I hope you all like this chapter and I can't tell you how much your kind words mean to me. I still can't believe anyone bothered to read this. Lol. Like always feel free to comment and/or give advice/criticism. I live for attention. 
> 
> I hope you all are happy and healthy, thanks for reading. :)


	8. Chapter 8

************************************

It’s been nearly a week and Thomas is relieved to see the pony has begun to relax. The delivery men had come three days ago to install the kitchen counters and cabinets but their presence had really bothered the pony so Thomas had paid them extra to work double time. The small Centaur still doesn’t talk all that much and sometimes he’ll go an entire day without so much as a word but he doesn’t tense up whenever Thomas is around anymore so Thomas isn’t too worried. Progress in being made whether he chooses to speak or not. Thomas thinks the ponies silence is more out of habit than anything else.

To both Logan’s and Thomas’s delight, the pony turns out to be a fantastic cook. Better yet, he seems to genuinely enjoy it. In addition he has taken to cleaning. Thomas informs him he doesn’t have to but the pony is persistent, which is probably for the best, Thomas hadn’t realized just how filthy the stalls were until the pony began to clean them. Who knew the walls were brown? Logan and Thomas had been under the impression they were a dark grey. Apparently not. 

The days continued to pass peacefully and it had now been roughly two weeks since the pony’s arrival. It’s now Saturday Thomas and Logan are sitting at the living room table together ,looking critically at Logan’s apple computer. They have been trying to decide which company they should stop supporting. Logan has already decided actually, it’s Thomas who is dragging the process out.

“Are you sure ‘Industrialized Zink’ isn’t worth keeping?” Thomas asks. 

“The name is ‘Industrialized Iron’ and the answer to that is yes. This company is hardly worth the Ten Thousand a month. You should most definitely cut your losses.” Logan states impatiently. 

Logan has been pushing the matter for an hour now. He’s shown Thomas all the charts and statistics. He’s taken the time to explain them thoroughly and he can’t understand why Thomas is so reluctant to cut off a company that so clearly doesn’t have a use anymore. 

“Thomas, continuing to work alongside this company is as effective as throwing money down a drain. It is utterly pointless and equally wasteful. While the decision remains yours, as always, I see no reason to continue such a useless venture. I recommend cutting off support.” 

Thomas sighs. “I hear you-” 

“I should think so, I’ve been talking to you for an hour.”

“-I guess I’m just feeling a little guilty after dropping that last company. Most of these companies worked with my Mom and Dad for years. It’s kind of hard to let them go. My parents worked so hard to get companies on board with their business and here I come along and kick them all out.” Thomas runs a hand over his face. 

Logan is looking confused now. “You are basing your business decisions off of your emotions? You do know they are only chemicals your brain produces? They are entirely unreliable and I can not fathom how these feelings could possibly be significant enough to interfere with what is best for your company. It is ludicrous.” Logan is annoyed now. So is Thomas. 

Before he can defend his feelings and tell off Logan for his judgemental attitude the pony jumps to the rescue. He comes clomping over from the kitchen with his hands on his hips. 

“Logan! How could you say that?” He scolds. “The heart feels what it wants and it’s always important to listen to it. Don’t let him get to you Thomas. You are entitled to your feelings no matter how unreasonable Logan thinks they are.” He gives Logan a nasty look. 

Both Thomas and Logan are stunned. This is the most assertive the pony has been since they met him. And of all people he is defending Thomas? 

The pony looks genuinely upset and hasn’t noticed Logan and Thomas’s staring. He seems to be waiting for Logan to give a response. Possibly an apology. 

However, before Logan or Thomas can respond, Thomas’s cell phone begins ringing.

“One minute.” Thomas says, while pulling it from his pocket. He glances at the screen and immediately wishes he’d left it in his pocket. He didn’t think he had reacted visually but he must have since both centaurs are looking at him funny. 

“Is everything alright?” The pony asks. Thomas is touched. It’s starting to look like this pony is a really nice guy. When he isn’t scared half to death that is.

Unfortunately, Thomas feels his panic rushes back in, wiping out all traces of good feelings. The phone is still ringing. Is it getting harder to breathe in here? It feels like it is. 

“I’m fine.” Thomas lies. “I just need to take this real quick. I’ll, uh, I’ll be outside.” He hurries through the doors as he answers the call. 

“Hi Uncle Owen.” He forces as much positive energy into his voice as he is able. He sounds pretty fake and his friends would probably laugh but his Uncle doesn't know him all that well so maybe he won’t notice.

“Thomas! Nice of you to pick up!” It sounds like an accusation.

“Haha, yeah… I just had to step outside for a moment. What’s up?” Thomas crosses his fingers, hoping against hope his Uncle has called just to say hi. He’s never done that before but Thomas still believes in miracles. 

“Oh, I just have a little surprise for you.” His Uncle’s voice is sickenly sweet. “Mind coming out to your driveway?” 

Thomas’s brow furrows. Drive way? Gift? What is going on? ‘I don’t like this. This is all kinds of weird. Should I tell Logan to call the cops if I’m not back in twenty minutes? No. That’s crazy. He’s my Uncle. It’s not like he’s ever threatened me, he’s only ever been a jerk. Though he does give me a bad feeling whenever he’s around. Like a snake waiting in the grass. Either way I should probably check the driveway.’

Thomas realizes it doesn’t matter since Logan doesn’t have a phone anyway. With a resigned sigh Thomas walks towards the driveway, slowly. 

“I’m headed there right now. Should I be looking for anything? Something in the mail?” 

“Oh no, you’ll know it when you see it.” 

Thomas doesn’t like that answer. He doesn’t like any of this. Most importantly he’s starting to lose faith in miracles.

“Alright. I’m he-” Thomas rounds the house and stops dead in his tracks. His Uncle. The driveway. A car. His Uncle's car. His Uncle is in the car. No, his Uncle's whole family is in the car! ‘Is this some sort of punishment? What did I do to deserve this?’ 

********************************************

“Thomas! Good to see you boy!” His Uncle hops out of the car and goes up to clap him on his shoulder. Has Thomas mentioned his Uncle is big? No? Well he is. And his hands on Thomas’s shoulders hurt. 

Thomas tries to come up with something to say but finds himself speechless. His Aunt takes over for him. She’s never at a loss for words in all the time he’s known her. 

“Oh Thomas! It’s been ages since I last saw you, I feel like it’s been years!” She dramatically rushes over to hug him as her husband steps back to make room. Thomas stiffens. 

“Yep.” Thomas tries to stealthily wriggle away. Oxygen, he needs oxygen! “The last time we met was the funeral.” He says while gritting his teeth. He manages to break free of her grip but only because his young cousins start yelling. “MOOOM! Lea hit me!” “Did not! You’re a liar.” “ Mommy I want a soda!” 

Thomas cringes at their high pitched voices. He remembers those voices. How could he not? They were the only things he could hear all throughout his parents funeral. 

His Uncle wraps an arm around Thomas in a shoulder hug while his wife rushes to their kids aid. 

“So Thomas, how have you been? Sick of living in this big house all by yourself yet?” Thomas tries not to show how much that question hurts. Of course he was sick of it. Two years of being almost entirely alone? He had been depressed for the better part of the last two years. To be honest the only thing that had really dragged him out of his funk was meeting Logan and- Logan! The pony! No one knows he owned Centaurs! If his Aunt found out she was sure to tell everyone via facebook. Thomas’s friends couldn’t find out like this!

Thomas breaks free from the ‘man hug’. (His Uncle’s words, not his) “The house is fine. I’ve been keeping myself busy lately so I don’t really notice it anymore.” 

And he doesn’t. Mostly because he hasn't spent much time in it lately. He spends most of his days in the stables. Even if he doesn’t have a reason to be there he still goes over to hang around. He even moved in an armchair and everything. It’s nice just to be in the presence of others, even when you’re all doing your own thing. Thomas tended to just watch tv shows on his phone but still, company is company. The pony and Logan don’t seem to mind either. (Otherwise he wouldn’t do it.)

Of course Thomas isn’t about to tell his Uncle that he spends most of his time hanging around two Centaurs though. He hopes his Uncle will drop the subject. His Uncle doesn’t have a choice when his two unruly children come rushing up to whine at him. 

“Daddy, Mommy won’t let me have a soda! She’s being mean!” “Daddy why are we here? I want to go to McDonalds!” 

That’s all Thomas is able to make out of their whining before it all blends together. His Uncle leans down and gives them the same fake smile he always gives Thomas. 

“Now, now, kids. What did we say? If you can be good your cousin Thomas will let you play on his Xbox. You want to play on it don’t you?” His children carry on yelling. Their father stands, ignoring them. He turns his attention back to Thomas. 

“You still have that Xbox right? We promised the kids could play on it. I’d hate to disappoint them.” 

Thomas tries to smile back. “I don’t know. I probably have it tucked away somewhere. Did you guys wanna-” Thomas chokes out the next words. “-come on it?” 

‘What are you doing!?’ Thomas screams in his mind. ‘Tell them to go away!!! Be assertive!’ 

Oh, how Thomas wishes he had the same courage Logan does. To stand up for yourself even if you knew it wouldn’t end well. But Thomas isn’t Logan and he doesn’t stand up for himself. Instead he just invites a family he despises into his home for reasons he isn’t even sure of. 

‘Damn it.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter! Sorry it was a little later than usual, I could have sworn I posted the latest chapter just last tuesday. Guess not?
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter and as always, feel free to leave suggestion or ideas you may have in the comments. I always read them and I appreciate your input. 
> 
> Stay safe and have a good day!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Cursing/children cursing.

***************************************

As soon as Thomas invites his family into his home his Aunt lights up like a Christmas tree. 

“That would be splendid! Oh, I haven’t been in your parents home in what must be ten years!” Thomas’s Aunt is all too eager to walk up the porch and try to open Thomas’s front door. It’s locked and Thomas feels relief flood over him. 

“Here, let me run around to the back and unlock the door for you. I should probably warn you, it's a little...messy. I haven’t exactly kept up with the cleaning lately.” ‘Or at all’ 

Thomas just has enough time to hear his Aunt’s horrified “Why don’t you have cleaning service!?”, before he rushes around the corner of his home. He doesn’t bother to try and answer her. He’s worried if he lingers his Uncle will insist on coming with him and he desperately needs to tidy up. And fast. 

Seriously, what were his Aunt and Uncle thinking? Showing up uninvited? It wasn’t like they were passing through town and thought ‘Hey, doesn’t Thomas live out here? Why don’t we drop by and visit him?”. They lived five states away! Thomas doesn’t live anywhere near a tourist attraction. 

Even if they had been passing through, Sanders Farm was nearly forty minutes out of town. No. This was definitely a planned visit. Thomas just wishes he’d been informed of said plan. Instead, here he is, frantically throwing stray hoodies and shirts into a closet whilst blowing on anything he passes that looks too dusty. He runs out of breath. 

He finally decides that his Aunt and Uncle will simply have to make do with his dirty, stuffy house. They were the ones who didn’t think to give him a heads up anyway.

Thomas is still doubting his decision as he opens the door. 

“Hey, come right on in.” He smiles weakly. His Uncle laughs loudly. “There you are! I was starting to think you got lost!” He claps Thomas on the shoulder again (OW) and follows his wife into the house. Thomas looks at his cousins. “Uh, you guys coming in?” 

Lea’s response is to stick her tongue out at him while her brother starts making monkey gestures. Thomas fights off a scowl. “You guys can’t stay alone out here. It’s a big place and it’s easy to get lost. Why don’t you come on inside?” The monkey gestures continue. 

Thomas turns back to his Uncle in hopes he will tell his children to get inside. No one is there. Thomas feels his heart leap in his throat. He doesn’t want his Aunt and Uncle roaming around his house without his supervision but he can’t just leave his little cousins by themselves. Not in good conscience anyway. He wasn’t lying when he said they could get lost. Sanders Farm consisted of several acres and the nearest neighbors were quite a few miles away. There were all sorts of wild animals and heavy machinery around and he couldn’t just let a five and seven year old roam around without supervision. That and the barn. Under no circumstances can he let his family enter the barn.

‘Okay, asking nicely doesn’t work. Not that I thought it would. Warning them of danger didn’t work either. I really need to stop Uncle Owen and Aunt Patty so I guess it’s time for the last resort. Bribery.’ 

Thomas casually walks back inside. “That’s a shame. I guess I’ll just have to play with my Xbox by myself.” He makes sure to speak loud enough for them to hear. A few seconds pass and he’s starting to think they didn’t hear him when two small bodies force their way past him and nearly knock him off his feet. Thomas grabs onto the door and scowls after them. 

He shuts the door and hurries after them into the living room where they’ve already set about ruining it in their hunt for his Xbox. He ignores them in favor of finding his Aunt and Uncle. He walks in on his Aunt rummaging through his kitchen drawers and….looking in cookie jars? He tries to keep his shock from his voice as he speaks. “There you are Aunt Patty, I see you found the kitchen. Say, do you happen to know where Uncle Owen is?” She doesn’t have time to answer before a voice booms from behind Thomas. 

“I’m right here, bucko. Just thought I’d get reacquainted with the old place. Such a-” He runs his fingers over the dusty kitchen counter and makes a face. “-lovely home.” 

Thomas can feel his anxiety shooting through the roof. He doesn’t want them here. He doesn’t want his Aunt going through his kitchen or is Uncle going around doing who knows what. He doesn’t want his loud, horribly behaved cousins here either. He doesn’t want-

A loud crash echoes from the living room. The kind of sound that only comes from glass shattering on the floor. Thomas is filled with horror. The living room. Most of his parents' prized decorations were displayed in the living room. How could he have forgotten that?! Thomas pushes past his Uncle and rushes towards where he heard the glass break. He is horrified to see his father's ceramic globe spread across the floor in too many pieces to count. His cousins are nowhere to be seen. 

Thomas feels his legs shake and he grabs onto the wall for support. He barely notices his Uncle come up to inspect the damage until he speaks. 

“I’m sure you can fix it.” He says. 

Thomas stares dumbly at his Uncle who is currently crouched down beside hundreds of glass shards. 

“It’s ruined.” Thomas rasps. 

“Oh honey, don’t be dramatic, you know how kids are.” His Aunt comes up behind him and looks indifferently at the ex-globe. “They don’t know any better. It’s just what kids do.” 

It takes Thomas a full minute of staring between his Uncle and Aunt to determine his next course of action. He pushes away from the wall and steps back to face the both of them. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to be in my house right now.” 

He gets interrupted by his Aunt. “They are only children, these things happen. You left them unattended so really you only have yourself to blame.” She gives him her best condescending look. She’s very good at it. “I don’t know what you expected, leaving them all alone. Poor darlings were probably frightened. Being alone in a big house like this. You can’t possibly think this is their fault.” 

‘Yes I most certainly can, Karen.’ Thomas thinks bitterly. What he says is. “It doesn’t matter. Like you said, these things happen. I’d just like to make sure they don’t happen again-” His Uncle tries to interrupt but Thomas powers on. “It’s a beautiful day outside anyway, we should take advantage of that.” His Uncle finally manages to but in. 

“That sounds all good and fine Thomas but you told the children they could play on your Xbox. It wouldn’t be right to deny them that just because they broke some silly vase.” ‘Silly vase?’ Thomas thinks furiously. ‘What, you mean that globe my Dad bought in Europe and managed to bring back here without a single scratch? You mean the glass globe that survived a trip across the actual globe but couldn’t make it five minutes in the same house as your kids?’

“I have plenty of things they can play with in the yard so let's all head outside.” Thomas begins ushering his relatives towards the back door while blinking back tears. ‘This is not the time to cry. You need to stay strong right now. You can cry over this later. In bed when you’re trying to sleep for example.’ 

“Wait! Where did Lea and Leo run off to? They must have been frightened by the noise of the glass shattering. My poor, little dears!” His Aunt tries to escape past Thomas back into the house. 

“I’ll get them. Why don’t you relax? I’m sure it was a long drive here, you must be exhausted.” Thomas doesn’t wait for a response as he shuts the screen door in her face and rushes back inside. ‘Now where are the little shi- runts?’

Another crash echoes through the house. But this time from upstairs. Thomas feels his temper rise in response. Don’t get him wrong, he likes kids. What he doesn’t like is out of control, destructive, spoiled and entitled children. There is a difference. 

He dashes up the stairs and is not so much shocked as he is horrified to see his cousins tearing apart his room. 

“What are you doing!?” Thomas yells, rushing in to save his computer console from grubby little hands. 

“Where is your Xbox? You said we can play on it! I’m gonna get Mommy and tell on you!” Cries Lea as she knocks over a stack of books. Thomas rushes over and pulls her away from her next target, his TV screen. 

“Stop it. We are all going outside. Your Mom and Dad are both there and you can whine all you want.” Thomas is too upset to bother holding back his frustration any longer. Instead he grabs Leo with one hand and Lea with his other and gently begins to pull them out of his room. They both scream. “Let go! You said we can have your Xbox!” “I don’t want to go outside!!!” They both struggle violently and Thomas is forced to let go or risk them getting hurt trying to escape. He puts his hands on his hips. “No. No Xbox for you-” “But you promised!” “You’re an asshole! I’m gonna tell Mommy and she will make you!” 

Thomas steps between Lea and his guitar, where she’s been trying to pull out a string. “I said that before you broke my stuff. Now get out. You’re not allowed in here. We’re all going outside and if you don’t I’ll call your Dad.” Thomas pulls out his phone to emphasize his point. He’s hoping his Uncle is less enabling and that Lea and Leo will actually listen to him. 

They stop dead in their tracks. “You can’t do that!” Leo screetches. “You’re a fucking asshole!” snaps Lea. Thomis is alarmed at how easily and viciously she is cursing. He tries not to let it bother him as he scrolls his contact list and brings up his Uncle’s name. “One last chance you guys. Get out of my room or I’m calling your Dad right now.” 

His cousins full on scream and then run out. Thomas shakes his head in an attempt to regain his hearing, then looks in dismay at his room. He is snapped back to the present as he hears his cousins slamming his screen door and crying to their parents. ‘At least they are out of the house.’ He thinks.

“Thomas get down here!” His Uncle bellows. Thomas cringes and makes his way down the stairs, but not before closing his eyes and counting to ten. He still isn’t prepared for the drama currently playing out on his porch. He doesn't think he ever will be.

His Uncle doesn't even bother with his infamous fake smile. “There you are. Now I know you’re upset about that broken vase but you agreed it was an accident. Besides, I’m sure that ugly thing wasn't all that expensive anyway. You can just buy another.” His Uncle rolls his eyes before Thomas can tell him how nothing on earth could ever replace the sentiment of that globe and plows on. “You promised the kids they could play on the Xbox. So let them go in and play. It won’t hurt anyone.”

Thomas looks his Uncle in the eye, or he tries to anyway. He is still intimidated by him and can’t seem to move past it. 

“I think it's for the best we all sit outside. Besides, I have a bin out here with tons of cool stuff for your kids. I’m sure they can find something fun to play with in there.” Thomas walks over to a wooden storage bench and digs through it. He’s trying to ignore his crying cousins and his Aunts attempts to comfort them. She seems to think telling them how they did nothing wrong and calling Thomas a jerk and meanie will deescalate the situation. 

He pretends he can’t hear them. Instead he pulls out a ball, a frisbee and- oh, what’s this?. Thomas pulls out a remote controlled helicopter from the storage bin. It probably cost him a hundred dollars when he bought it and his cousins are sure to ruin it but he doesn’t care. Anything to stop the screeching and wailing. 

Thomas sets the helicopter on the table. “Here. Play with this.” He doesn’t care if they use it as a baseball and launch it into the sun. Just so long as they leave him alone.

His cousins turn to glare at him but then their eyes fall on the mechanical toy. They squeal and race each other for it. Thomas ushers them towards the back yard as they yell and fight for the controler. 

“There.” He drops heavily in a wooden rocking chair. “Now everyone is happy.” He isn’t. But he supposed this is the best it can be while these particular relatives are with him. Better them sulking on his back porch than destroying his house.

His Aunt is glaring at him so he averts his gaze towards his cousins. He continues to do so until the uncomfortable silence becomes too much for him. Thankfully (Or maybe not.) His Uncle breaks the silence before he has to. 

“So Thomas. You told me you've been keeping busy lately. Mind sharing what it is you do nowadays?” Thomas does mind. He minds very much. He minds because he has spent most of his time figuring out how to run his company so that he can eventually fire the man currently sitting across from him. He unsurprisingly isn’t keen on telling this to his Uncle.

“Oh, you know. Just been fixing up the old place. The stables have all but fallen apart.” That much is true. Thomas has been making as many repairs as Logan, and the pony will let him. They still don’t like him putting so much effort into their home. It seems to make them uncomfortable whenever Thomas tries to improve their living situation. 

Thomas’s Aunt looks disgusted. “Why don't you just hire someone to do it for you? You can definitely afford it.” It’s a funny trait of hers. Bringing up his financial situation whenever she can. 

Thomas shrugs. “I think it's fun. Besides, it gets me out of the house and has the added bonus of giving me a work out.” His Uncle gives that plastic looking grin again. Or maybe he hasn’t stopped making it. Hard to say

“Well I’m glad to hear it. You could use a little exercise.” Thomas blushes self consciously as his Uncle stares pointedly at his stomach. Oh how he hates being around this family. 

“Haha, yeah…” He laughs weakly. His Aunt opens her mouth, probably intending on agreeing with her husband, when she suddenly shoots up in her seat in delight. “What's this? Thomas you didn’t tell me you own a Centaur!” 

Thomas’s stomach drops even lower than it had when he’d heard the globe break. He can feel the sweat already beading on his forehead. “Oh yeah.” He squeaks. “I forgot.” ‘Damn it Logan. I was so close.’ 

His Uncle laughs. “Thomas, Thomas, Thomas, you always were full of surprises. And here I thought you were a hopeless cause with all that ‘Centaur rights’ nonsense you used to go on about. How many Centaurs do you own?” 

Thomas is certain he must be paler than a ghost. This is bad. This is so bad. The cat is out of the bag. His Aunt is going to post this all over social media and word will spread and get to his friends, who will find out he’s been hiding this all along, in the worst possible way. His life is over.

His Uncle squirts as he tries to get a better look at Logan. “Why isn’t he in his stall? At the very least he should stay in the barn. You aren’t doing that free roam thing are you?” 

“Yes- I mean no, I mean he’s, uh, he’s allowed to walk around.” Thomas wishes Logan would stop coming closer. Unfortunately Logan doesn’t seem to have noticed Thomas isn’t alone. He’s focusing on the ground and ends up halfway between the barn and the house before he looks up and finally sees them. He’d most likely been watching out for that gopher hole the Pony had spotted yesterday. They hadn’t gotten around to filling it so both Centaurs have been extra cautions when walking around that area. 

Logan falters, unsure of how to proceed. Thomas isn’t sure either. Regrettably Uncle Owen beats them both to any sort of decision.

“Hey you!” He calls to Logan. “Come on over here. Let me get a look at ya.” Thomas is further horrified as his Uncle stands up and approaches the wooden fence that encompasses the backyard. Thomas doesn’t think it could get worse until he sees his cousins jump up and run to join their father. Now it can’t get worse.

**********************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Another cliff hanger?!   
> Yep! On another note, lets hear it for Logan's impeccable timing! 
> 
> As always, please comment on your thoughts, ideas, hate/love for this fic. I love hearing what you guys think. Stay safe and healthy everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning!: Cursing and slurs are in this chapter!   
> Disclaimer: I do not support anything the Uncle or his family says.

**********************************

Logan isn’t sure what to do. The man has given him an order so he should obey right? But that man doesn’t own him. Thomas does. Then again this man is presumably Thomas’s guest. He doesn’t want to make Thomas look bad. Besides, he’s only been told to walk closer. That’s not so bad right? That was what he’d come to do in the first place. 

Logan slowly walks closer, hoping this is the right course of action. 

*******

Thomas is both relieved and disappointed. 

“Oh well, it isn’t like this day can get worse.” He murmurs under his breath. ‘I should stop thinking that. The universe seems to take that as a challenge to prove me wrong.’ Thomas hops to his feet and hurries towards his Uncle and the approaching Centaur. His Uncle whistles loudly. “Wow, you got yourself a fucking beast.” ‘So that’s where Lea’s cursing comes from. Also, RUDE.’

Logan doesn’t seem happy with this declaration either. Thomas imagines Logan feels the same as Thomas does when his Uncle mentions Thomas’s weight. 

Thomas clears his throat. He opens his mouth even though he isn’t sure what to say. Then Aunt comes rushing over and tries to pull her kids away. They screech and whine. 

“Come away kids! Don’t stand so close, it might kick you!” She turns sharply to Thomas. “How dare you let him roam around all by himself. There are children here! Is he even trained!?” 

Both Thomas and Logan are taken back. Trained? What is he, a wild beast? He’s a Centaur, not a fucking dog! Thomas glares at her. 

“He’s not a fucking animal. He’s not gonna run around attacking people!” Thomas has his hands clenched in fists. He no longer sees a reason to hold back from cursing in front of his cousins.

His Aunt gasps and covers her children's ears when she is interrupted by Logan.

“If by ‘trained’ you are implying that I will not cause bodily harm to anyone, baring self defense, then yes. I am trained. Though I find that to be an inaccurate and somewhat offending description. I believe ‘non threatening’ or ‘of standard temperament’ best fit this scenario.” Logan states this in a calm collected manner. He is completely composed and doesn’t seem at all upset. The same can not be said for Thomas. 

Thomas’s Aunt and Uncle who are taken back. Thomas isn’t sure if they are more surprised at Logan’s vocabulary or that he knows how to speak at all. Either way they seem speechless. ‘About time. I haven’t been able to come up with anything to say since they got here. Lets even the odds shall we?’ Sadly, good things aren’t known to last in Thomas’s experience and his Uncle and Aunt find their tongues a minute or so later. 

“Well I never!” “How dare you speak to my wife that way!” Thomas thinks his Uncle would have slapped Logan had he been tall enough and Logan closer. Instead his Uncle puffs out his chest and stomps right up to Logan, who seems a bit worried at this reaction. 

“I did not intend to insult your wife. I am not even sure as to what I said that you find offensive but I assure you it was unintentional.” Logan does actually seem a bit apologetic, although Thomas knows he will not directly apologize. He never does. Logan hadn’t been aware of just how often he insulted and put down people until the pony had made a habit of pointing it out to him. Still, it’s a rare day when Logan is willing to acknowledge he’s made a mistake and rarer still for him to admit it aloud.

But Thomas’s Uncle and Aunt don’t care in the slightest. Thomas thinks that even if Logan had begged for forgiveness they would still rant and rave at him so it is no surprise when they begin shouting abuse and slurs at Logan. 

Thomas tries to calm them down. “Uncle Owen, Aunt Patty, please! Lo- He wasn’t trying to insult you. Calm down!” Thomas is dismayed when his Uncle and Aunt continue shouting over him. They probably can’t hear him over their own voices.

“You are just a dumbass animal! You should only speak when told to!” “How dare you speak to me! You should be punished!” Then his Uncle and Aunt turn their focus on Thomas, giving him whiplash. “Well? Are you going to let him disrespect your Aunt like that?” 

Thomas scowls. Since when did Logan owe anyone his respect? 

“Even if he WAS insulting you, and trust me you would know if he was, I still don’t think he should apologize because YOU insulted him FIRST. Seriously, who asks someone if they are trained?” Thomas is ready to tear into his Aunt and Uncle about how terrible they have been this entire time when he is interrupted by the squeal of hyperactive kids. ‘Seriously, are these kids on a sugar only diet or what?’

Thomas reluctantly moves to see what Lea and Leo are yelling about this time. Thomas and Logan are equally horrified when they manage to make out what the kids are saying as they jump about. “A PONY! MOMMY, THERE’S A PONY IN THE BARN!!” “CAN WE RIDE IT?! I WANT TO RIDE THE PONY!” 

Thomas looks over to see that, yes, the pony has left the barn. He’s only a few feet out of the doorway but he’s still notably a pony. For the first time Logan is looking truly worried. “Thomas I do not believe-” He tries to speak but gets cut off again by Aunt Patty. 

“SHUT UP! I’ve already told you not to speak! Are you too much of a retard to understand that much? You fucking-” Thomas shoves past his Aunt, cutting off her words. 

“No Lea. Don't climb the fence. Stay over here. You too Leo.” Thomas tries to gently pull Lea off the fence. She clings tightly. Her and Leo’s screams alert their parents who finally notice their children. They also notice the pony. “You have a pony too? How dare you try and hide it! The children could have been playing with it all along!” “A pony? Seriously? Let me guess, you couldn’t control the big bastard so you tried again with a small bitch.” 

Thomas would be furious if he wasn’t so preoccupied trying to keep his cousins from charging over the fence and harassing the pony. Logan has him covered in the anger department. “Don’t speak of him that way. He has done absolutely nothing to you. It is incredibly judgmental of you to speak of someone you have never met. Also, he is male which turns your definition of him being a bitch null and void. If you intend to insult at least do so correctly.” 

“Why you fucking-” Thomas’s Uncle hops up on the bottom rung of the fence and tries to slap Logan. Logan takes a single step back and Owen nearly falls off the fence and onto his face. Thomas snorts. Then, out of nowhere, Thomas feels a sharp pain in his hand. He yelps and releases Lea to check what hurt him.

Teeth marks? Lea bit him? ‘How dare Uncle Owen and Aunt Patty accuse Logan of being a wild animal when they are raising such little monsters. Monsters. Plural. I have two cousins. Where is Leo?! Thomas tears his gaze away from his throbbing hand only to see Lea and Leo rushing the pony while their mother shouts encouragement. 

The pony balks as they charge him and looks incredibly frightened. He waves his hands a little while shaking his head no in an attempt to discourage the children from approaching but Lea and Leo charge on. Thomas’s head is spinning from the chaos that has been the past hour. He isn’t sure when to look, this has gotten entirely out of control and he has no idea what to do. 

His Uncle is still screaming at Logan and Logan is responding in kind. His Aunt is alternating between telling Thomas to go get the pony’s saddle and telling him how irresponsible and selfish he’s been. His cousins have reached the pony and have started to pull and scratch at him. The pony is clearly terrified and trying to back away from them. 

Thomas is torn on whether to pull Logan and his Uncle away from each other before his Uncle manages to punch him (Or Logan loses his temper and hits first), or whether he should pull his cousins off the pony first. In his split second hesitation his Aunt has unlatched the gate and is hurrying towards the pony. She is digging through her purse as she goes and pulls out something large and metal. 

Later Thomas will find out it was a makeup case she accidently pulled out while looking for her phone, but in that moment of complete chaos it looked somewhat similar to that horrible mouth piece the pony had once been forced to wear. 

The pony panics. He stumbles backwards frantically as fast as he can. 

Now remember how Logan had been trying to find that gopher hole earlier? The pony found it. His back legs slip into it and throw him to the ground. He gives a loud cry of pain that halts every one in their tracks. 

‘That. Is. It.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter out! Sorry this was a bit late. I hope you enjoy! Stay safe and healthy everyone!!  
> (As always comments and kudos are always appreciated and I seriously love you guys!)


	11. Chapter 11

‘That. Is. It.’ 

“GET OUT!” Thomas screams. He rushes past his Aunt and bodily shoves her out of his way when she tries to stop him. He runs to the pony. The pony has his arm covering his eyes and is crying. Thomas turns around to face his horrible family. 

“Get the fuck off my property. Go right now and don’t you ever come back!” His Uncle has run over to help his wife up and turns to glare up at Thomas. “How dare you assault my wife!” 

“I don’t fucking care!” (Later Thomas will feel terribly guilty but at this particular moment, no, he really doesn’t care.) “I want you off my land in the next five minutes or I’m call the police.” 

“You’re Centaurs have harassed and attacked us and you want US to leave?! Those fucking animals should be put down! We’ll sue you for this!” His Aunt screams this while pulling her fussy children close. Her husband opens his mouth to join it but Thomas speaks first. 

“Good! I’ll see you in court!” 

Thomas turns his back on his family to address Logan. “Logan, can you help him into the barn? I’m going to walk my family to their car. I don’t trust them to go by themselves.” Thomas glares at his Aunt and Uncle. He’s so upset he doesn’t even register he’s used Logan’s name. Logan simply nods from where he’s kneeling by the pony. He doesn’t point out Thomas’s mistake.

Thomas starts waving his hands in a ‘shoo’ motion while walking towards his family. 

“Come on. You guys have overstayed your welcome. Actually you were never welcome in the first place.” His Uncle opens his mouth but Thomas just glares at him and he closes it. His Uncle and Aunt make the wisest decisions they've made all day and silently sulk back to their car. Their children follow less quietly but don’t try to fight their parents grips on their hands. Thomas follows them and crosses his arms while watching them pile into their $70K car. He stands right outside the drivers window, glaring at his Uncle. 

Once his Uncle and Aunt get in the car they seem to find their tongues again, or maybe they just aren’t as scared now that they can make a quick get away. 

“I’m very disappointed in you Thomas.” His Uncle says. 

“Back at you.” Thomas replies. 

“Don’t come crawling to us if you ever need help. You’ve officially burnt that bridge.” His Aunt snarks. “I want McDonalds!” Leo yells. “You’re a fucking faggot!” Yells Lea. Thomas barely keeps himself in check.

“Get out.” He repeats. 

His Uncle shakes his head in faux dismay. “I hope you realize you have lost your family today. I can only imagine how disappointed your parents would be.” 

Too far. 

“Uncle Owen,” Thomas says lowly. “I don’t ever want to see you or your family again. If you try to contact me ever again I will sue you for however much you’ve stolen from my company over the years. You’d better pray I don’t change my mind and sue anyway. Now get out.” His Uncle pales and his wife sputters. Thomas turns away and walks back into his house without looking back. Based on his Uncle’s reaction, he knows he was right to suspect his Uncle was embezzling money from his company.

He hears their car drive off and takes a deep breath. He slumps against the door, fighting off tears. He really just wants to jump in bed and dramatically cry Disney princes style but the day still isn’t over. He needs to get to the barn. The pony could be seriously hurt. 

The thought spurs him back to his feet and he grabs the emergency kit from the kitchen before half jogging to the barn. He doesn’t have the energy to actually run. He finds the pony and Logan in the pony’s room. He knocks lightly on the door and waits for permission to enter.

He has never been in eithers room since they moved in. He isn’t about to invade their privacy like all their previous owners had. Their room is their safe place and Thomas respects that. 

Logan looks up at the quiet noise and gestures for Thomas to come in. The pony is laying on his side with his face squished into one of his many pillows. Thomas leaves him be and faces Logan instead.

“Is his leg broken?” He asks Logan. 

“No but he most likely bruised a few ribs when he fell. I can not say for sure since he has been unwilling to communicate with me.” 

Thomas just nods. Makes sense. The poor guy isn’t likely to start speaking again anytime soon. “I should probably call a doctor right?” Thomas asks this quietly. He doesn’t want to alarm the pony. 

“I am not entirely sure that is a good idea. To subject him to another stranger at this time is likely to cause him more stress than is healthy. I suggest we get his some ice and allow him time to settle. Unless he should he show any signs of more complex issues tonight or tomorrow I see no reason to involve a medical professional.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Thomas says. He gets to his feet and does his best to stand steady. Man, is he tired. 

“I’m gonna go fill in that hole. Are you okay to stay here with him?” 

Logan nods. “Are you certain you remember where it is?”” 

“Positive. I have the whole damn thing is burned into my mind. Couldn’t forget if I wanted to.” 

Logan nods and walks out to go collect some ice. 

Thomas shifts from one foot to the other. He is hesitant to leave but he's aware the pony probably wants some privacy, or at the very least to be away from humans. 

Thomas forces himself to leave the room and heads over to the storage closet to get a shovel. As much as he'd like to leave the physical labor for tomorrow he is determined to follow through. Today could have been SO much worse. When a Centaur breaks a leg it tended to be extremely difficult to set. Not to mention how long it took for a Centaur leg to finish healing. Add all the physical therapy needed afterwards and it could take up to a year to get a Centaur back to normal. 

Thomas exits the barn and walks strait towards the hole. He lifts his shovel and begins to fill in the pit with the surrounding dirt. His movements are vicious and sharp. He's stabbing the ground more than shoveling it. He hadn't realized he'd needed to burn off so much steam. 

Thomas does his best to smooth out the ground once the hole is filled and then drags the shovel back with him to the house. He isn't about to walk all the way to the barn again. 

Once Thomas enters his home he finds himself overwhelmed with fatigue. He drops the shovel (that he hadn't realized he was still holding), and walks up the stairs. He ignores the broken glass from the broken globe, making a mental note to clean it later, and shoves his bedroom door open. It's a mess. His things are everywhere and there are significantly more clothes on the floor than what there had been that morning. To be fair there had been quit a bit that morning.

Thomas elects to ignore that too and falls face first into his bed, the pillows rushing up to meet him. He would have screamed into his pillow if he'd had the energy to. Instead he closes his eyes and allows sleep to claim him. He trusts Logan to get him if anything goes wrong and he simply doesn't have the physical or mental energy to do anything else. 

Tomorrow, he'll do it all tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is late!!! :(   
> I just started a new job and time just flew away from me. I am, however, happy to say that the Uncle, Aunt and their hell spawn are all gone! Yay!!! 
> 
> As always feel free to leave comments and don't hesitate to let me know of any criticism or ideas you may have for this story. I love feedback. 
> 
> Stay safe everyone!!


	12. Chapter 12

************************************

It’s been four days since the disaster that was Thomas’s family. To everyone's relief, the Pony seems to have only mildly sprained his leg. It had been swollen the whole first day but Thomas had been assured (by a Dr. he called because ‘Damn it Logan this could be serious and no, I’m not panicking.’) that it didn't sound like anything serious and so long as they kept an eye on him the Pony should be back on his feet in no time. 

Now that Thomas knows the Pony is alright Thomas has put all his efforts into damage control. Mainly his reputation. Right now he's typing away on his computer, trying to prepare a speech to his friends to explain why he owns two Centaurs. So far he has-

Why you shouldn’t kill me. - A formal apology by Thomas Sanders.

1\. I’m sorry  
2\. I literally don’t know how this happened  
3\. I’m too young to die  
4\. We’ve been friends for years  
5\. Remember that one time I let you eat the rest of the Doritos?

That’s about as far as Thomas has gotten when Logan walks up to him. He sets down his computer and turns his full attention to Logan, thankful for a distraction. 

“What’s up?” 

Logan looks upwards in confusion. “The roof?” He looks back down to squint at Thomas. Trying to determine why Thomas would ask such a ridiculous question. 

“No, I mean ‘what’s up’ as in ‘what are you up to’?” 

“Oh, I see.” Logan has one eyebrow raised but just shakes his head and continues. “I have been pondering the dilemma of his- (he gestures to the pony) inability to speak when under pressure. I am concerned it may one day cause a serious issue.” 

Thomas nods. “I am too but what can we do about it? It isn’t like he’s doing it on purpose. You’ve seen how frustrated it makes him. He can’t help it.” 

“I am aware. That is why I have come to the conclusion that we need another method of communication.” 

“Another way- you mean like a notepad and pen? That didn’t work, remember? His hands kept shaking and it just upset him even more.” 

Logan huffs. “I am not suggesting the notepad again. It was impractical anyway. What if he should forget it? To carry it around would be a hassle.” 

“It was your idea.”

Logan speaks over him. “What I mean is we should learn sign language.” 

‘Sign language?’ Thomas stops to think about it. It does make sense. “I guess that could work. Do you know sign language?”

“I do not but I don’t think it will be too difficult to learn. I taught myself to read although I assume it would be far easier to learn with an online training course.” 

“Taught yourself- It might be easy for you Logan but I took four years of Spanish in high school and I only remember how to say ‘cat’, ‘lamp’ and ‘hi’. Oh, and ‘uno’ though I don’t think that one counts.” Thomas runs a hand through his hair. “Still, I think you may be onto something. Sign language could work.” He looks up at Logan with a smile. 

“I say let’s give it a shot. Y’unno, if he wants to.” 

Logan and Thomas look over to where the pony is moving about the kitchen. Now that he’s back on his feet he seems happy. He actually looks calmer than Thomas has possibly ever seen him. ‘Sign language sounds like a good idea. I think he’ll think so too.’

************************************

Thomas and Logan wait till dinner to bring it up. At first, the pony seems surprised at the idea -probably because of Logan’s blunt delivery- but then he smiles wide. 

“You’d learn sign language? For me?” He looks so touched Thomas can’t help but smile with him. 

“Of course we would. It’s the least we can do. We want to help you. Besides, if it wasn’t for you Logan and me would have starved to death by now. ” 

“That is a gross exaggeration Thomas. We would have survived.” Thomas nudges Logan in his lower rib cage. 

Logan sighs. “Thomas is correct -however rare that may be-” 

“Hey!” 

“-in that we would both like to assist you in this manner. In fact we-” Logan’s eyes widen in concern. 

“Thomas, is there a reason he is crying? I did not think this would be upsetting to him but I suppose my calculations may have been off.” 

The Pony wipes at his eyes. “I’m alright, Logan. I’m just happy. You guys have gone so far out of your way to make me comfortable and I really appreciate it.” 

“So you are crying? How does that make sense?” 

“It's just what people do.” The pony says, wiping the tears from his eyes. 

“I have never done such a thing.” Logan counters.

“He means people who aren’t emotionally constipated.” Thomas snickers whilst trying to discreetly rub his eyes. The Pony’s emotions are so catchy!

“What- what are you- How does that sentence even make sense?!” Logan says, throwing his hands up.

The pony claps his hands in excitement. “Lets learn sign language right now!” 

*******************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So I have an excuse for being late(-er than I wanted to be)- I've officially caught the 'illness with must not be named'. I've got it pretty mild but it still sucks. Bright side: no work!
> 
> I hope you all like this chapter and I absolutely LOVE the support and feedback you guys have given me! Thank you all so much! I still can't believe so many people like my writing. 
> 
> I've been having a bit of trouble figuring out Roman so I've been putting this story off but I think I've got him figured out, more or less. 
> 
> I hope you all stay healthy and have a great day!


	13. Chapter 13

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Logan, Thomas and the pony get right to work learning sign language. They spend most of their evenings studying and practicing together. Naturally, Logan is miles ahead of the other two but that was to be expected. 

Seeing as Logan already has the basics down he becomes their default teacher. They still watch tutorials online but any and all questions are directed at Logan.

Three days after first choosing to learn sign language, all three friends sit in the living room practicing. Thomas sits in his chair. (The comfy one he dragged in a few weeks prior. So what if there was grass and dirt all over the bottom of it and he took two hours to get it there. It was a small price to pay for comfort) The Pony and Logan sit across from him, perfectly content on the cement floor. So they say, Thomas is going to get a rug anyway. 

They’ve been practicing how to finger spell for thirty minutes now and Thomas isn’t sure much progress is being made. 

After Logan walks Thomas through his hand positioning (again), Thomas gives it another go. He speaks as he slowly signs. 

“My name is Thomas Sanders. I’m twenty two-” He doesn’t get farther than that. Which was a shame considering that was the farthest he’d ever gotten.

“You’re twenty two? I was under the impression you were younger.” Logan interrupts, surprised.

“Younger as in I have a young face or..” Thomas doesn't bother to finish his sentence. He knows what Logan meant. Thomas is offended. Not surprised, but offended nonetheless. “Never mind. Yes, I am twenty two. How old are you?” 

“Twenty three.” Huh, Thomas had thought he was older than him by maybe four or five years, give or take. He says as much. “Really? I thought you were like, twenty five or twenty seven. You’re only a year older than me.”

“Yes, well age can be an inaccurate measure for ones-” A squeal cuts him off. The pony is practically bouncing on his knees and a wide smile splits his face. 

“You’re both just little babies!” He coos. He has his hands bunched up by his face and is wiggling in excitement. 

“Wha-?” Starts Thomas. 

“Babies? I just said I’m twenty three!” Logan says, flabbergasted. 

“How old are you?” Logan and Thomas ask simultaneously. 

“Twenty five!” The pony still looks delighted. 

“What? You’re only two years older, how does that make me a baby?” 

“Seriously? I thought you were younger than me.” 

The pony doesn’t give Thomas or Logan a response. He just keeps smiling and squealing. 

“I don’t understand. How could you possibly see me as a baby? I am a full grown adult!” Logan is obviously still confused but Thomas thinks it's kind of cute how delighted the pony is. Though to be fair, the pony is almost always cute.

The pony has already proven how much he loves to care for other people. He always gives Thomas a throw blanket when he sits in his chair, even when it’s only slightly chilly. He makes Logan wear a jacket when he leaves the barn and gets worried if Thomas or Logan says they aren’t hungry. He’s got this ‘parent’ vibe about him, so the pony being so happy about being the oldest isn’t all that surprising once Thomas thinks about it. To be honest, though, he really had thought the pony was much younger. He looks closer to being twenty than twenty five. Hell, he could pass for 17 if he tried hard enough. 

“I guess you’re the oldest then dude Congratulations. Just don’t let the power go to your head.” Thomas chuckles. 

“Power? Thomas what are you even talking about?” Logan's confusion has turned to frustration. 

“Don’t worry about it kiddo.” The pony says, while barely holding back a laugh. Thomas doesn’t even try. The look on Logans face was possibly the funniest thing he’d ever seen. Logan was angry but too confused to even know how to react. For a split second he’s speechless and just sputters nonsense. Thomas hasn’t ever seen that before and he thinks it’s hilarious. 

Thomas eventually manages to calm himself down and cuts off Logan’s sputtering. “Don’t worry about it Logan. We’re just having fun. Don’t take it so seriously.” 

Logan glares at them both. “I don’t believe I will ever understand either of your senses of humor. It is entirely nonsensical.” 

“That’s what makes it fun, Logan. Anyway it’s your turn.” Thomas says. 

Logan decides to let it go and releases a long sigh. 

‘My name is Logan.’ Unlike Thomas he signs without speaking. Possibly as revenge since he knows Thomas will struggle to keep up. ‘I am twenty three. Therefore an adult.’ Thomas doesn’t quite catch that last part but he doesn’t have to to know what Logan meant. 

Thomas rolls his eyes as he turns to watch the Pony. The pony brings up his hands and starts signing. Like Logan he doesn’t speak along. 

‘I am twenty five.’ He hesitates for a moment but then gives a smile and continues. “My name is-’ The pony slowly spells out his name. Thomas shoots to his feet. 

“Oh my gosh! Your name!!” The pony nods with a smile. “Your name is Gatton!” 

The pony (Gatton?) stops, confused, and shakes his head ‘no’.

“Thomas that was a ‘P’ not a ‘G’.” Logan clarifies. 

“Ooooh. Yeah, that makes more sense.” Thomas says, a thoughtful look on his face. Then he’s smiling again. “Patton. That’s a really nice name. It suits you.” 

The po- Patton grins. “Thank you. I figured it was about time I told you. After everything you’ve done for me I know that I can trust you now.” 

Thomas clutches a hand over his heart. His feelings right now are becoming a little overwhelming and Thomas almost wants to cry. He feels so honored and blessed to have been given the trust of these two centaurs. Centaurs who had only ever been abused by humans and yet somehow saw something in Thomas that they found trustworthy, despite his being human. Knowing a centaur’s name came with a sort of power and Patton had just given his to the person who could abuse it the most.

“Thank you Patton.” Thomas says, raspy voice betraying his emotions. Patton just opens his arms with a big smile. 

“Bring it in kiddo.” 

How could Thomas refuse? 

“And again with the crying.” Logan mutters. “Why would you cry when you are happy?” 

“Don’t worry Logan.” Patton gets a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You’ll understand when you’re older.” 

Thomas bursts into laughter and Logan just yells in frustration. 

***************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! Patton's name! Warning, I may still refer to him as 'the pony' by accident. Old habits die hard and all.
> 
> I hope you all had a great Christmas/Holiday. Despite 7/8 members of my family catching you-know-what we still had fun. (We lucked out and basically just had regular cold symptoms. Though losing your sense of taste sucks)
> 
> Anyhow I hope you all like this chapter and, as always, feel free to comment on any thoughts, ideas or even criticism you may have. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and stay safe everyone! Oh yeah, and happy new year!


	14. Chapter 14

*************************************** 

This is it. The day of reckoning has come. Thomas’s sins have finally caught up to him and denial has ultimately failed him. Now that he thinks about it he shouldn’t be as surprised as he is. 

The end is thrown into motion by a single text. 

‘We need to talk.’ - Joan

The text is rapidly followed by one from Talyn but this one has a photo attached. 

‘WTF’ - Talyn 

The photo is a screenshot of what can only be Aunt Patty’s facebook page. On it she has a post describing that horrible afternoon when she, her husband, and their crotch goblins had invited themselves over. Even though the post is about 80% lies, from what Thomas can see through the blurry picture, his Aunt does mention Patton and Logan enough times and in enough detail that it’s clear that at least a centaur of two were involved. 

Thomas knows he should have spoken to his friends sooner and he truly had planned to but he just hadn’t been able to make himself do it. He now curses his cowardice. ‘Why past me? Why?’

Thomas has only just read the texts when his computer rings with a zoom call meeting. Both Talyn and Joan are in it. With a deep breath Thomas joins. He tries not to wince but does so anyway when he sees their faces. 

It remains silent for quite some time before Thomas gives into his nerves. Besides, what does he have to lose?

“Okay! I know! I know! I’m sorry, I should have just told you guys.”

“So it’s true? You own a Centaurs?!” Talyn gasps, it’s clear they had been hoping otherwise.

Thomas avoids eye contact. “I’m sorry, it’s true.” 

Joan glares viciously at him. “Are you sorry for not telling us or because you FUCKING BOUGHT SOMEONE!?” 

“Thomas, what the hell is going on?” Talyn looks like a mixture between angry, betrayed and disappointed. 

Thomas flounders for an answer. What does he say? How can he explain this? Thomas is still panicking when he hears hoofbeats. ‘Oh no. It’s Logan.’ (The two Centaurs make distinctively different sounds when they walk. Patton's hoof beats are light and quick whereas Logan's are heavy and drawn out.) 

Thomas glances up and half shuts his computer screen, ignoring his friends‘ protests. He really wishes they had called when he was in his room and not in the barn. Unfortunately he is in the barn and Logan is approaching the table, looking at his own computer. He probably has something business related to tell Thomas. Is it just me or does Logan have the actual WORST timing?

“Hey, uh, Lo- er-um, do you mind- uh, coming back later? I’m kinda having a- well you see-” 

Joan and Talyn have had enough. 

“THOMAS! If you don’t get back on right this second I swear I’m hanging up and never speaking to you again!” 

Thomas hopes Joan is bluffing but he doesn’t think they are. There is nothing his friend group is more passionate about than defending people’s rights, it’s how Thomas met over half of them. And yet Thomas still bought two people. He’s taken away their right in every conceivable way. Thomas wants to at least explain himself before losing his friends forever, even if he isn’t sure he deserves to. 

“No, please don’t guys! Let me explain! I didn’t- I didn’t mean to-” Thomas quickly lifts his computer up.

“ What, you just ‘accidently’ bought two Centaurs?” Talyn snarks. 

“Well not accidentally-” 

“Fuck! Thomas what happened to you man? Do you seriously not care about other people anymore? Was this all just a joke to you?!” 

“No!”

Thomas looks away. This isn’t going well. He doesn’t know what to say to defend himself. Guilty though he may feel, he still believes he did the right thing. If he hadn’t bought them, Logan would be dead and Patton would still be suffering horrible abuse day in and day out. 

He’s thought, many times, that maybe he should have called the Centaur Cruelty Prevention instead of taking the drastic steps of buying Logan and Patton. But the CCP would never have gotten there fast enough to save either of them. No, Thomas is sure there had been no other way and if he had to do it all over again he would still do it the same.

If only Thomas could put all his thoughts into words. He is still thinking through this dilemma, his brain going at hyper speed, when he sees Logan’s face appear behind his on the screen. 

“Gah! Dude don’t scare me like that!” 

“I apologize. Although I am not sure how you did not notice my presence. I did not think it was possible for me to be stealthy.” 

“Yeah well I’m kind of distracted-” 

“Who’s the new friend Thomas?” Joan phrases it as an accusation. “Did he have anything to do with you becoming a slave owner or was that all your idea?”

“Does he think buying and selling people is okay too? Is that it?” Talyn asks. They sound furious but there is a clear undertone of hurt to their voice. “Did you ever even care? Were you just pretending all that time? Or you just change your beliefs to match what your friends think?” 

Thomas is losing whatever chance he’d had to convince his friends that he isn’t a monster. That he was never faking and that he has always cared and always will. He never betrayed his convictions. Not really. ‘That's it!’ He thinks. ‘All I have to do is explain how I-’

“Of course I believe selling and buying Centaurs is okay. Is it not a daily occurrence?” 

‘Damn it Logan!’ 

Talyn and Joan are practically shaking with rage when they hear that. They unleash their wrath on Logan.

“How fucking dare you! Centaurs are just as human as we are! They deserve to be treated with the same amount of respect as the rest of us!” 

“You’re sick man. I’d normally give you a piece of my mind but right now this is about Thomas, not you. Thomas bought centaurs and nobody made him do it so you stay out of this. It’s none of your fucking business.”

Logan glares back defensively. “It most certainly is my business! If anyone has no say on this topic it is most certainly you. If you truly think I should have the same rights as that of any human then do not tell me how my being bought by Thomas isn’t my business.” 

“You fuc- what?” “Hold up what did you say?” 

Logan doesn’t answer, he just picks up the computer and raises it to show the rest of his body. 

“Seeing as I am one of the centaurs in question I do believe I should have a say in this conversion. Unless you are as hypocritical as you have accused Thomas to be.” 

There is only silence on the other line. Thomas holds his breath.

“You’re the guy Thomas bought?” Asks Talyn quietly. 

“Yes. There is one other but I believe he is sleeping.” Logan squints. “Although it is possible he is only pretending to sleep but I am uncertain. He confuses me.” 

There is a moment of confused silence before Talyn takes a calming breath.

“Okay Thomas.” They say tersely. “I want you to explain. I’m gonna give you the benefit of a doubt, you’ve been one of my closest friends all my life and I honestly can’t believe you’d do something like this.” 

“Same.” Joan says stiffly. “Tell us why you decided to buy this guy and, apparently, another one. I’m assuming you had a reason.” Talyn and Joan seem more upset and betrayed now that their anger has faded somewhat. 

Thomas snatches up the opportunity to explain and clings to it like a life line.“I do! I do have a reason!” Thomas takes a moment to try and reorganize his thoughts. 

“Um, okay. So I know how awful it is, what I’ve done but I wasn’t planning to but then I met Lo-this guy-” Thomas’s words speed up and start to blend together. 

“-and he wassick andmybosswas horribleandthenwesawthatstupidfair-” 

“Thomas.” Logan raises his voice to be heard over his rambling. “We can not understand you. It may be best to slow down.” 

“I have a better idea. How about you tell us what happened?” Talyn gestures to Logan. 

“Me?” Logan says surprised. 

“Yeah. I want to hear it from your perspective.”

“Well I.. Thomas?” Logan looks to Thomas who just waves his hand at him. 

“Knock yourself out man.” Who knows, maybe this way will be better. Thomas can hope right?

Logan clears his throat. Thomas remembers how Logan used to be punished for talking back and just speaking in general. He realizes Logan has never been asked to speak before in his entire life and certainly not to more than one person. Does he have a fear of speaking? 

“We shall start at the beginning then.” ‘Yeah no, Logan’s gone full professor mode. No fear of public speaking there.’ 

“I met Thomas when he began working at Benny’s Warehouse. I do not know why he chose to work there out of all the other available jobs he could have chosen, or why he chose to pursue a job in the first place, considering his sizable inheritance, however, had he not he would never have bought me. Therefore I will overlook this significant oversight in common sense.” 

“Gee thanks.” Thomas quietly grumbles. This may take a while, Logan likes to be thorough. Thankfully Logan speaks quickly and efficiently as well so it tends to balance out. Usually.

“Although I am uncertain as to why this matters, it was only under extreme circumstances that Thomas chose to buy me. Though to be fair, I do not remember most of it.”

Joan interrupts. “Why don’t you remember? Didn’t you have a choice in the matter?” 

Logan snaps back, irritated at being interrupted. “Of course I do not remember. I was unconscious during this time.” 

Thomas drops his face into his hands, groaning. “And now I look like a kidnapper.” 

“You are not a kidnapper Thomas.” Logan scoffs. “You brought me through legal means. How would you even kidnap me in the first place? How would you sneak me out? It is doubtful such an attempt would go unnoticed.” Thomas groans again. 

“Please just finish the story.” He says, not daring to meet the eyes of his friends. He can feel their combined judgment even through a screen.

“Yeah.” Pipes up Talyn. “I want to know why Thomas bought an unconscious Centaur who couldn’t even stand up for himself.” Thomas buries his head further in his arms.

Logan huffs. “You may be right in that I was unable to stand up for myself, literally and figuratively, but I am able to do so now and I can say with full clarity of mind that I am grateful Thomas bought me.” 

Talyn and Joan look skeptical. Thomas can sympathize. It can be hard to tell if Logan and Patton say things because they mean it or if they’re just saying what they think Thomas wants to hear. Logan never did much of the latter but Patton had consistently when he first arrived. It had taken Thomas quite a while to realize Patton wasn’t playing nice out of fear anymore. As it turned out Patton genuinely likes making people happy, he doesn’t play nice, he is nice.

However, Logan has never appreciated when people do not take his words seriously. He says what he means without any input from the opinions of others. Consequences be damned. 

“I do not suppose you will ever experience pneumonia in two sets of lungs but I assure you it is quite common for those suffering it to lack lucidity. Thomas had no hand in my lack of conscious.”

“So you were sick when Thomas bought you?” 

“Guys he wasn’t just sick. He- They were gonna- His cart…” 

Thomas runs his hand through his hair. He hates remembering those terrible days, when he wasn’t sure if Logan was going to make it or not. Trying to decide what to do if he lived. Trying to decide what to do if he didn’t-. 

“I was not simply ‘sick’. I believe the most common description would be ‘dying’, and I would have had Thomas not intervened when he did.” Logan straightens his shoulders. His hands holding the computer stay perfectly still. He is somehow perfectly composed, even though this is the first he’s talked about his near death experience. He sounds and is acting like he’s only talking about the weather. 

“My previous owner did not consider me to be worth the cost of whatever medicines I required so Thomas bought me in order to provide them. Therefore even though I may not have been aware that I had been sold, I assure you I am quite content with the outcome.” 

Talyn and Joan stay silent. Muling over this story. Thomas isn’t sure how they would have responded since, at that moment, Patton chooses to show himself from around the kitchen counter. 

“You never told me all that!” He gasps. “That’s so horrible! You poor babies!” He comes trotting over, looking distraught. “I didn’t know you both went through so much. I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t imagine how frightening it must have been!” He gushes.

Logan scoffs and shuffles away to avoid Patton’s hug. “We’ve been over this before, Thomas and I are NOT babies. Also I was unconscious. It was not frightening at all.” Patton ignores his protests and gives his best attempt at a hug. He can just reach Logan's lower chest. 

Logan scowls. “For heaven's sake! It was months ago! Why would it still upset me?” 

Still ignoring Logan’s protests, Patton moves on to Thomas. Thomas gladly accepts the hug. He could use one right about now. 

It’s silent for a moment before Joan clears his throat quietly. “So who’s this?” Oh, Thomas had just about forgotten they were there. 

Both Talyn and Joan are rather speechless at the whole spectacle they’ve been witnessing. Who can blame them? Thomas, Patton and Logan do make a rather odd trio.

“This is Pa- er” Thomas wracks his brain, trying to think of something to call Patton besides his name or ‘the pony’. Logan helps him out. 

“This is the other Centaur.” Logan gestures to Patton who gives a tiny wave. Now that Patton has him emotions a little more under control, any confidence he might have had begins to die. Thomas is touched that Patton’s desire to comfort him and Logan overrode his fear of new people, even if just for a bit. 

“Right. So how did you end up with Thomas?” Talyn asks Patton. Both Talyn and Joan seem to have completely calmed down. Something Thomas is eternally grateful for. Maybe Logan’s impromptu arrival was a good thing after all.

Patton looks around flustered and frightened. He'd clearly forgotten Joan and Talyn were there. He begins signing to Thomas and Logan, asking if he actually has to speak with them. Thomas shakes his head no.

“He does not wish to speak to you.” Logan declares. Talyn and Joan are both a bit taken back by the blunt statement. Patton looks horrified.

“Oh, okay. No pressure. I just wanted to know if it bothers you that Thomas bought you.” 

“I can assure you, again, neither of us minds in the slightest. Quite the opposite.” Patton nods in agreement with Logan. 

Thomas smiles a little. No matter how many times he'd told himself he had done the right thing by buying them, he had never felt entirely at peace about it. Now, hearing Patton and Logan confirm it, Thomas finds the lingering guilt he hadn’t known he still had slowly fading away. 

Joan processes this for a moment. “Thomas?” 

“Yeah?” 

Joan takes a slow breath. “I shouldn’t have attacked you like that. I still don’t know what the fuck is going on but I should have had you explain first.” Joan is quick to add, “I’m not saying I agree with all this but it looks like it’s a lot more complicated than I thought.”

“I’m sorry Thomas.” Taylin says. “I got so mad I didn’t even stop to think there might be more to the story then you just up and turning on everything we believe.” 

“Joan, Talyn, you guys don’t have to apologize. I’d have done the exact same thing a few months ago.” Thomas gives a weak smile and gets two equally weak ones in return. 

Talyn looks at her phone and sighs. “I have a major test in a few so I’m gonna have to go. Before I do, I’m glad I got to meet you two. Can I get your guys’s names?” 

“No.” Deadpans Logan . Patton nudges his lower rib cage, signing to Logan to say it nicely.

Joan frowns. “Do you guys not have names?” They sound alarmed. 

“No, no, no.” Thomas waves his hands. “They have names. They just don’t tell them to people. It’s a- it’s a cultural thing. Or maybe some kind of…. tradition?” 

Talyn frowns too. “Oh. I’ve never heard of that.” 

Logan scoffs. “Perhaps it is best not to join a cause for Centaurs when you are ignorant-” 

Patton nudges Logan again and signs at him. 'Hush! Don’t be rude, they’re just trying to do what they think is right. There’s nothing wrong with that.'

“Thinking or feeling as though you are right hardly makes that truth.” Logan argues.

“Guys. Can we debate later?” Thomas asks. Patton and Logan reluctantly stop. “Well, thanks Joan, Talyn. I’m glad you guys care enough to confront me about this. I know we- I haven’t answered all of your questions but I need to go too. Can we get a rain check on this?” 

‘Rain check?’ Logan mouths in confusion.

Joan and Talyn nod. “I’m still confused about what the hell is going on but Joan is right. There is definitely more to this story so I’m going to try and keep an open mind.” 

“So am I.” Agrees Joan. 

“We’ll talk later, okay Thomas?” This time it doesn't sound like a threat. Well...maybe like a warning. A slightly aggressive warning.

Thomas nods. “Yep. Talk to you guys later.”

“Bye, it was nice to meet you two. I hope we can talk again sometime.” Talyn calls before logging out. Joan leaves right behind them. Thomas collapses in his chair. He laughs like a maniac. 

Logan and Patton back away as though he is a maniac. 

“Thomas? You doing alright there kiddo?” Patton asks. 

Thomas gives two thumbs up. “All good Pat, just relieved.” 

“Do you usually become manic when relieved?” Asks Logan. 

Thomas just keeps laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked this chapter! It was probably the hardest part I've written so far and I'm not sad to be done with it. Also yes, Logan has the worlds worst timing. At least it worked out this time though.
> 
> I'm not sure how well I did with Joan and Talyn and I hope they didn't come off as too uncharacteristic. Also I'm sorry if I accidentally used 'he' or 'she'. I've never written anything with a nonbinary character before and I tend to type fast and miss those sort of mistakes. I didn't mean to insult anyone if I did or I ever do. 
> 
> I hope you all liked it and leave comments, kudos, ideas, advice, criticism, etc. 
> 
> Stay safe y'all!


	15. Chapter 15

*********************************

Thomas glances casually over his laptop. Patton is still in the kitchen. That’s ok. Thomas can be patient. Patton will move eventually. He just has to play it cool, it will all be worth the wait. Thomas goes back to his computer whilst glancing at Patton out of the corner of his eye. Two minutes later (Thomas is keeping track.) Patton straightens up, dusts off his hands, and exits the kitchen. Patton has barely left the room when Thomas is jumping to his feet and sneaking into the kitchen. 

Thomas rifles through the cupboards. Then the top shelves. ‘Damn it. Where are they?’ Thomas tries under the sink next but to his utter dismay there isn’t a dorito bag in sight. He’s been looking for the family sized dorito bag he bought last week, for four minutes now and he is running out of time. He has to find them before Patton comes to the kitchen to make lunch. 

In the past week, Patton had become very strict about snacking before meals. Thomas had disagreed vehemently against cutting down his snacking until Logan had joined Patton, saying that snacking was generally unhealthy and should be limited to fruits or vegetables. After that Thomas had given in to Patton’s idea, afraid they might both take Logan’s approach and gang up on him. Less cheesy goodness was better than no cheesy goodness. 

He slams the last shelf door closed and stands with a huff. Fine. He’ll ask for help. If he’s lucky Logan won’t tattle on him. It’s a big if but desperate times call for desperate measures. He waves at Logan to get his attention. Logan looks up from across the room and raises an eyebrow in question.

‘Where are the doritos?’ Thomas signs. Logan just squints in confusion. ‘What?’ Logan signs back.

Thomas drops his head back with a groan. 

This ‘quiet hour’ thing is killing him. Last week Logan had informed Patton and Thomas that they were- “not progressing in sign language at the speed with which most people do”- and that he didn’t think they were getting enough practice. He proposed they dedicate an hour of each day to not talking to ensure they practiced. Thomas is almost positive Logan made the whole thing up to get Thomas and Patton to talk less. They had discovered a mutual love of puns and Logan was endlessly frustrated by it. Still, Thomas had to admit it was a good idea.

Thomas tries asking Logan again. ‘Where are the doritos?’ Logan still looks confused. 

Thomas checks to see if he is spelling ‘doritos’ right. He thinks he is but maybe not. He pretends to open a bag and mimes eating a chip. Then he gestures to the kitchen. He thinks he made a pretty good impression but unfortunately Logan doesn’t see it. Logan is looking at Patton who’s just walked in. 

‘Damn it.’ 

Patton is smiling but it freezes over when he sees Thomas in the kitchen. His eyes narrow in suspicion. Thomas swallows heavily. ‘I was looking for something.’ Thomas signs. 

Patton squints even more. “What?” Patton quickly puts his hands over his mouth before signing instead. ‘Can you say it again?’ ‘I wanted-’ Thomas tries to think of an excuse. ‘-water.’ He doesn’t know if Patton is buying it or not because Logan speaks up instead. 

“Thomas we don’t know what you are saying. You’re too far away.”

Now Thomas is the one confused.

“What do you mean?” He asks. 

“Guys! No speaking remember? It’s still quiet hour!” Patton reminds them. 

Logan ignores him. “Thomas, how are we supposed to know what you are saying when you are that far away? We can’t see what you are signing.” 

Thomas glances around. Is he in a shadow or something? “Logan I’m not that far away. Are you telling me you can’t see my hands?” 

Patton gives up on quiet hour and focusses of Thomas’s hands with Logan. Thomas spells out his name. (the first thing he could think of.)

“Kiddo, Logan’s right. You’re too far away.” Patton agrees.

Thomas wants to let this go as just a trick of the light or something, since both Centaurs are saying he’s too far to see, but he has a nagging feeling something else is up. He raises his hand and holds up three fingers. 

“How many fingers am I holding up?” 

“Thomas don’t be redicu-” “Two.” Logan looks at the smaller Centaur in surprise. He squints and looks harder at Thomas’s hand. “I see three.” He says. 

Thomas holds up four. “How many now?” 

“Still three.” “Five?” Logan and Patton look at each other confused before Logan speaks.   
“Patton can’t you count?” Patton glares at him. “Of course I can! I just can’t see him clearly from this far away!” 

“It is clear he is holding up three fingers. Can you not see that?” 

“Logan, I’m holding up four.” 

An awkward silence falls. All three look between each other. Logan clears his throat. 

“Be that as it may, I still believe you are simply too far away. Patton and I cannot see you from this distance and I’m not sure why you are taking this so out of proportions.”

“Because you guys should be able to see me. I’m not that far! Here, I’ll prove it. Patton hold up your fingers.” Patton holds up two fingers. “Two.” Thomas says confidently. 

“That doesn’t prove-” “Now you’re holding up four.” Logan’s eyebrows draw close together.   
“Are you implying that our sight is impared?” He asks.

“Oh! You mean like glasses?” Patton asks. “I used to have glasses. But they- uh, they broke. I haven’t actually worn any in years.” Logan and Thomas are surprised at this information. 

“You knew you needed glasses?” Thomas asks. Patton wrings his hands a little. “I’d actually forgot I ever had any. It was a long time ago. I haven’t had any since I was sold to the fair.” 

“Well I think it’s safe to say you still need them. Logan, did anyone ever say you needed glasses?” 

“Anything regarding me would have been discussed with my owner, not me.” 

That makes Thomas mad. “So he knew?” 

“Possibly. The last time I was examined was when he first bought me so my sight might have digressed since then. Also, what makes you certain I need glasses anyway?” 

“Logan,” Patton says. “If you can’t see any better than I can and I needed glasses then I’m pretty sure that means you do too.” 

“I’m aware, Patton, but holding up fingers from across the room doesn’t provide concrete evidence. It is possible there is light interference or something of that nature.” 

“Which is exactly why I’m getting you guys an appointment with an Optometrist. There’s the one I always go to so we can just go there.” 

“Opta-who?” Patton asks. 

“He means an eye specialist.” Logan clarifies. “Thomas, we do not need an Optometrist. A Centaur vet would work just as well. Patton and I would not be allowed in an Optometrist’s office anyway.” 

“Yeah but a vet,” Thomas nearly snarls at the word. “- wouldn’t know what exact prescription to give you. They couldn’t tell us much more than we already know. Hell, I bet they just have a box of glasses and you try them all on till you find one that works a little.” 

“That’s how I got mine.” Patton confirms. ‘Damn it I was making that up.’ Thomas thinks.

“See? What’s the point in getting you guys glasses if you still can’t see right?” 

“That is a valid point,” Logan concedes. “- but we will still not be allowed to enter the building so I don’t see another way.” 

“Course you don’t! That's because you need glasses!” Patton snickers.

“One could come here?” Thomas suggests, ignoring Patton’s quips. Then he thinks it through more. “Naw, they’d still need those machines or whatever.” 

“Machines?!” Patton looks alarmed. “Why would they need machines?” 

“I have no idea but they always use them so they are probably important.” Thomas says. “I’ll ask Joan and Talyn if they know any Centaur friendly places. Who knows? Maybe there’s one in town.” 

Logan rolls his eyes. “I seriously doubt it.” He doesn’t protest it though so Thomas takes that as permission to go ahead. It isn’t like it will hurt to check. 

“I’m gonna get started on lunch.” Patton says, moving to the kitchen. “I was thinking of making sandwiches. Oh, and Thomas,” Thomas faces Patton just in time to catch a bag of doritos from hitting his face. “Stop snacking before meals.” 

“Where did you even hide that?! I looked everywhere!” Thomas blurts without thinking. He shrinks back at the disapproving look Patton shoots at him. 

“I mean, yes sir! No more snacking before meals. Got it.” Thomas slinks back to the table and hides his face behind his computer screen in shame. He racks his brain, trying to think of where Patton could have possibly hidden the chips. He’d been sure he looked everywhere. The fridge maybe?

********************************

Thomas is texting Joan and Talyn to ask about possible doctors when a thought occurs to him. It’s hardly the first time he’s wondered this but he no longer feels like it might be insulting to ask. 

“Hey Patton.” 

“Yeah?” Patton looks up from where he is making cookies. 

“Why don’t Centaurs tell people their names?” 

Patton looks thoughtful. “Well, I guess it’s so we can choose who we want to let close to us. If we don’t want to be friends with someone we don’t tell them our names and that's that.”

“Oh. That makes sense, but is it something you do with everybody or only humans? Or is that rude to ask?” Thomas says on second thought.

“Oh, no. We do it with everybody.” Patton assures him.

“So what if two Centaurs meet and only one ever gives their name?” 

Patton shrugs. “That happens sometimes. It’s a little awkward but not usually. Most people know better than to expect a name in return.” 

Thomas nods and ponders what Patton had said. He is still thinking about it during dinner. 

“What about nicknames?” Thomas blurts out, catching both Centaurs off guard. 

“Excuse me?” Logan says, eyebrows up in confusion. 

“He’s talking about our names.... I think.” Patton says. 

“Yeah, me and Pat were talking about it earlier and I didn’t think to ask about nicknames.” 

“What about nicknames?” Logan questions.

“Is it rude for people to use a nickname for you if they don’t know your name yet?” 

“Yes.” Says Logan. “It defeats the purpose of withholding a name. With a nickname you can refer to a person as though you are familiar with them. For as long as you do not know another person's name you must retain a respectful distance.”

“Oh.” 

Patton still seems to be thinking through the question. “I suppose if you already know that person's name and you just wanted to use the nickname for when you’re talking to other people, it wouldn’t be so bad.” 

“Really?” Thomas is intrigued. "You're saying if I had nicknames for you guys I could use it when talking to other people?” 

“Not quite.” Logan says. “It differs based on personal preference. Personally I would not mind, provided the nickname was something I approved of and whomever you were speaking with would not address me as such.” 

Patton nods in agreement.

Thomas is a little excited now. Maybe he won't have to struggle so much with names anymore!

“Would you guys mind if I use nicknames for you when I’m talking with Joan and Talyn?”

“I don’t mind.” Patton confirms. 

“Neither do I, provided the name is satisfactory. However, I do not wish to be referred to with a literal name. Perhaps something else?” 

Thomas stops to think about that. “A nickname that isn’t a name… okay. I can do that. Can it describe you or should it be random?” 

“I see nothing wrong with a description.” 

“Smart!” Patton yells. 

“I think that would turn into ‘smarty’.” Thomas says. “Which sounds more like an insult.”

“Okay, what about Wise?” 

“Maybe intelligent?” Thomas tries.

“Clever?”

“tall?” 

““Black? -Wait, no, uh….like your hair….?”

“No colors Pat. What about…..heavy?” 

“Thomas!” 

“Sorry! Sorry! I don’t know where that came from, I was trying to say strong!” 

Logan doesn’t look very flattered with any of their attempts. “You are both ridiculous.” He grumbles. 

“Joy kill.” Thomas mutters under his breath. 

“What was that?” Patton asks.

Thomas isn’t sure if Patton actually heard him or not so he plays dumb. “What? I didn’t say anything.” He is quick to divert the conversation. “So Logan, did you like any of the names we said?” Thomas seriously doubts it.

Logan rubs his forehead. “I personally find each of them, at best, annoying. How are any of those names logical?” 

Patton and Thomas freeze. They look at each other. Thomas feels a grin creeping up on his face to match the one on Patton's. 

“Logic!” They both yell, startling Logan. 

“What?” 

“Logic! It suits you. Like, a lot.” 

“Yeah! You’re always so logical and down to earth. It fits perfectly!” 

Logan looks thoughtful. “Logic.” He says, testing the name out. He looks momentarily excited before switching back to his usual, calm state. “It will suffice.” 

“Yes!” Thomas fist pumps. It would be easy to remember too, since it was so similar to Logan’s actual name. 

“Now that that is settled, I believe it is time for Patton’s turn.” Logan and Thomas both scrutinize the Pony. There are so many words to describe him that Thomas isn’t quite sure where to start. 

“Well if mine is to be Logic I suppose we could go with something similar.” Logan suggests.

“That’s a good idea. Let’s see, if you are a logical person then Patton is a…..” Thomas racks his brain. Still too many words.

“Sensitive person.” Logan surmises. 

“What? No. That sounds mean.” Thomas argues.

Patton squints. “Being called sensitive isn’t a bad thing Thomas. If more people cared about others this world would be a much better world.”

Logan rolls his eyes. “Yes, but caring is not always in your, or others, best interest. Emotions are flawed.” 

“You say that like emotions are a bad thing! They’re how we know right from wrong!”

Logan frowns and Thomas groans. Not this again. They seem to have this argument every few days and it never goes anywhere. They just circle around each other and neither ever gives in. It’s pointless.

“Guys, focus. What should Patton’s nickname be?” 

Clearly Logan is not quite ready to let the matter drop.

“Right and wrong are most often based entirely on a person's individual moral standpoint and therefore often clash with the moral guidelines of others.”

“Morals? What’s that mean?” Patton asks. 

“Mo-ral or Mo-ral-i-ty: Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.” Logan recites.

“Logan did you just quote a dictionary?” Thomas asks, flabbergasted.

“Yes. I’ve been reading my way through it again.” 

“Wha- you’re reading- hold up, did you say again?” Thomas says in bewilderments. ‘Who in their right mind reads through the dictionary of their own free will?! TWICE?!’

“I like that word.” Patton says, oblivious to Thomas’s state of shock.

“You should.” Huffs Logan. “Since you are always getting on my case about how I’m not following your ‘code of conduct’.” 

“That’s because you’re rude.” Patton says.

“So what if I’m rude? I don’t see why that is a bad thing. In fact, I’m usually just being honest. Isn’t that a good thing?” Logan makes finger quotations when he says ‘good thing’.

Thomas has an idea. He knows the perfect name. It suites Patton and has a somewhat catchy ring to it. It has nothing to do with interrupting the arguing. Absolutely nothing.

“What about Morality?” 

Logan hesitates. “What about it? I just gave you the definition. Did you not understand it?” 

Thomas waves him off. 

“No, I mean what if we call Patton Morality?” 

Logan and Patton both open their mouths to disagree but then they hesitate. 

“It’s kinda catchy.” Patton says. 

“It’s most certainly accurate to his personality.” Says Logan. 

Victory! Thomas is a genius and now he is free! 

“Awesome! It’s decided then. Logan is Logic and Patton is Morality. Boom. We’re done. I’m gonna go call Talyn and Joan. See you both later!” 

Thomas rushes out the door before Logan and Patton can stop him. He smiles to himself as he half jogs to his house. Logic and Morality. Oddly enough they seem to fit. 

*****************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally managed to stick their original names into the story! Yay! I've been planning this for forever and I'm so glad to finally post it. Also I'm giving the poor guys some glasses. Being partially blind is no joke. Beyond that, I don't have much to add to this chapter so I hope you all enjoyed it and let me know in the comments your thoughts on this story/chapter. I love hearing from you guys!
> 
> Stay safe and have a great day!


	16. Chapter 16

*****************************

“Alright everybody. I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called you here today.” Thomas says in his most professional voice. 

“Cut the bullshit, Thomas.” Joan sighs. 

Thomas pouts. “Fine. Whatever. I wanted to ask if you and Talyn know of any centaur friendly doctors around here.”

Talyn looks concerned. “Why? Is one of them sick?”

“No, but it turns out they're both blind as bats. I wanna take them to get their eyes checked but I don’t know where to go. None of the places around here are willing to let them in, not to mention how difficult it would be to fit in the one guy, he’s like eight or nine feet and nearly twice as long as the other guy is.” Thomas runs his hand through his hair. “I honestly don’t know what to do.” 

Joan and Talyn hum in sympathy. 

“That does sound like a problem.” Joan agrees.

“Lucky for you you’ve got two awesome friends to help you out.” Talyn pulls out their phone. “I know some people who might be able to find you a doctor close by. What makes you think they need glasses anyway?” 

“Well, we were practicing sign language, cause we are all learning it, but neither one of them could see my hands from across the living room. Then the one said he used to wear glasses so I’m pretty sure they both need them.”

“Used to?” Asks Joan. 

“Yeah, he said they broke. I guess no one ever got him a new pair. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if his asshole owner broke them on purpose. He was a serious dick.” 

Joan and Talyn shuffle uncomfortably. 

“Thomas, doesn't that bother you?” Joan asks. “Saying ‘owners’ and all that? It’s like you’re calling them slaves.” Talyn nods in agreement. “It’s seriously unnerving.” 

Thomas knows his friends have a good point. He hasn’t been ignorant to how casually he’s begun to refer to ‘owner’ and ‘vets’ and other such things. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be insensitive or anything.” Thomas says. “But I've had to change how I think and talk about a lot of things since they moved in. It makes them uncomfortable whenever I try to talk about them like they should be treated the same as humans. I dunno, maybe it just rubs it in that nobody else treats them like that. I’m pretty sure they know how they were treated before was messed up but it's like it’s a taboo to say it outload or something. I’m just trying to make them comfortable. If they prefer I say ‘vet’ instead of ‘doctor’, ‘stall’ instead of ‘bedroom’ or even ‘owner’ and not ‘fucking bastard’ then I won’t fight them on it. I don’t treat them any different than I would anyone else but I stopped talking about how everyone else should too.” 

Talyn shakes their head. “It’s really sad they feel that way…” 

Joan seems confused. “It actually bothers them when you talk bad about their old owners? Even the fucked up ones? I don’t know if I could keep quiet about how disgusting it is that people treat centaurs so horribly, it makes me so mad just thinking about it!”

Thomas shrugs. “You don’t live with them.” He points out. “They’ve got a lot of stuff I don’t understand but I’m trying to. Oh! Speaking of! They gave me nicknames I can use around you guys!”

“Nicknames?” 

“Yeah! I figured it was getting confusing since I’m not allowed to use their actual names around you both so I asked if I could use nicknames. They said we can if it's just us. But if you are talking to them then you can’t call them that.”

Joan squints. “Is that supposed to make sense?” 

“It’s so you can’t be anything more than an acquaintance unless they want to become friends. Or something like that. I honestly don’t really get it but it’s important to them so what the hell?”

“So you know their names?” Talyn questions. 

Thomas preens. “Yep. But we came up with some nicknames so I don’t slip up. You have NO idea how hard it’s been not to.” 

“I believe it, you can’t keep a secret worth a damn.” Jokes Joan. 

“What names did they pick?” Asks Talyn.

“Logic is the tall one and the short one is Morality.” 

Silence. 

“Logic and Morality?” Asks Joan and Talyn simultaneously in disbelief. 

“It’s an inside joke.” Thomas says, smiling to himself at the memory. 

“Works for me.” Talyn shrugs. Joan’s forehead crinkles in confusion. 

“So let me get this straight. We can call them Logic and Morality when we are talking to you but never with anyone else? Not even if we’re talking to them? And out of all the nicknames they could have chosen they went with ‘Logic’ and ‘Morality’?” 

“Yep.” Thomas pops the ‘P’. 

It’s silent for a moment. 

“Alright then. Logic and Morality it is.” Joan states, shrugging their shoulders. 

Talyn shrugs as well. “Okay then, who are we to judge? Besides I had other things I wanted to talk about. I know we already got the rundown on how you three met but I have a few questions.” Talyn says. They pull out a notepad full of what Thomas assumes are questions.

“Uh, sure. What did you wanna know?” Thomas swallows hard and tries to calm down the anxiety Talyn's words had sparked in him.

“For starters, how long have you known them?” 

“I met Logic-” Thomas stops to think. It feels as though they had met years ago. “I guess it's only been four or five months but it feels like it forever ago. I met Morality a month ago. Actually it was probably two. I’m not actually sure to be honest, these past few months have been a blur.” 

Joan looks hurt. “It’s been that long? Seriously dude, why didn’t you tell us?”

Thomas can’t keep eye contact any longer. The pain in his friend's eyes is too much for him to bear. 

“I was scared.” He admits. “Well, first I was so busy it didn’t even occur to me to mention anything but then when things did calm down I just didn’t know how to bring it up. Like, ‘Hey! Guess what? I bought somebody!’” Thomas takes a moment to recompose himself. “I was planning on telling you guys, for heaven's sake, I was writing out a whole speech for you but then my Uncle and Aunt visited and I completely forgot about it.” 

Joan and Talyn look disgusted. “Your Uncle Owen and Aunt Patty?” Joan guesses. 

“Yeah, those ones.” Thomas confirms. “They showed up out of nowhere and started destroying my house-” Thomas begins counting on his fingers. “- arguing with Logic, trying to physically fight Logic, burst my eardrums, search my kitchen for God knows what, attack Morality and nearly break his leg and then call me a faggot. Not necessarily in that order.” Thomas says all in one breath. He gasps for air.

Thomas’s friends look horrified. 

“How long did they stay with you?!” Talyn shriek's.

Thomas drops his head in his hands. “An hour.” 

Talyn silently fumes while Joan sputters in rage. 

“THE FUCK!? I don’t even know where to start!” Joan finally shouts. 

“I know, I know. After that I was just trying to do damage control! Oh, and fire my Uncle. Which is why I think my Aunt held off posting about it for so long. I think she worried I might actually sue them. I sorta told them I would.” 

“Yikes.” 

“Just to be clear, you want to fire your Uncle? The one who’s been running your entire company for the past two years? I totally support that, yanno, since he’s a dick, but isn’t that gonna hurt your company?” Talyn asks.

“Actually no. Well, I mean -sorta? At least not by much. Me and Logic have been doing some digging behind his back for months now and we’ve got a pretty good grasp of what's going on. His contract doesn’t end till next year though so we can’t do anything yet, which is fine since we aren’t quite ready to take that step.” 

“Hold up. You’ve actually been working for your company? The one you’ve been ignoring for two years?” 

“Did you say Logic was helping you?” 

“Yep.” Thomas puffs his chest proudly. “I’m a competent adult.” He hesitates. “Er.. Logic is. I still don’t understand most of what’s going on. He’s been keeping tabs on it and I just follow his lead.” 

“He has a degree?” Joan says in shock. 

Thomas is aware Joan was referring to a college degree but Thomas is equally aware Logan didn’t so much as graduate high school. (By no fault of his own. Thomas isn’t sure how much education is legally required for centaurs to have but he’s certain it doesn’t include a degree. They’re supposed to be able to read, write and understand basic math. Beyond that no one really cares.)

“Uh….No. No degree. Frankly I don’t think he actually needs one? At least not for what he’s been doing. He’s kind of a genius. And I am not saying lightly.” 

Joan snickers. “Compared to you, everyone's a genius.” 

“Ha Ha.” Thomas snarks as Talyn laughs. “I'm serious, guys. He knows what he’s doing.” 

“Okay, Thomas. We believe you.” Talyn assures him. Then they squint at him. “But don’t think you’ve distracted me from the rest of my questions.” 

Thomas sighs. “Yeah, yeah, go ahead.” 

“Why did you really buy them?” Asks Joan. “There’s a shit ton of stuff you could have done before resorting to actually buying them.” Talyn scowls for a moment, upset with Joan's interruption, but doesn’t stop them since they want to know the answer too. 

Thomas sighs. This again. “Guys, there was seriously nothing else I could have done that would have gotten Morality or Logic away from their abusive owners. By the time someone got around to checking for abuse, Logic would have died and Morality would be in a completely different state.” 

“I remember Logic mentioning he had pneumonia or something but was it really that bad?” Asks Talyn. 

Thomas nods and swallows hard. “He couldn’t stand and he was slurring his words when I found him. They’d locked him up in his stall once he got sick and I had to buy him just to get him to a vet since they refused to pay for one. The vet wasn’t even sure Logic would make it.” 

“That's so horrible.” Says Talyn.

“They really wouldn’t call a doctor?” Asks Joan in disbelief. 

“If he had been any of the other Centaurs they owned I’m sure they would have but they hated Logic. Once they realized just how sick he’d gotten I think they must have decided to cut their losses and be done with him.” 

It really is hard for Thomas to talk about this. It’s unbelievable that anyone could treat another person like that. And the fact someone decided to step back and allow Thomas’s close friend to die, locked away in a cold stall and completely alone, hurts more than Thomas can put into words. 

“I don’t know that I’d have gotten over myself enough to buy him if it hadn’t been for that.” Thomas admits. “It took Logic nearly dying for me to realize that how I feel about buying him isn’t as important as how he feels about being bought. He’s stuck as a slave and whether I buy him or not it doesn’t change that. At least he’s safe with me.” 

“A wrong thing for the right reason.” Murmurs Talyn. 

“Well that’s certainly one way to look at it.” Says Joan.

Thomas’s friends look as though they don’t quite agree with everything Thomas’s reasoning but Thomas isn’t bothered by that. He knows he did the right thing, and while he values their opinions, at the end of the day Thomas will do what he believes is right, regardless of what others say.

The conversation moves on. 

“So if that’s how you met Logic then how did you meet Morality? Did he work at the same place?”

“Morality was a totally different story.” Thomas says. “He used to work at a fair and they were pretty awful to him. He wasn’t allowed to talk and he still doesn’t unless it’s me or Logic. Actually the last time you guys saw him was the first time he’s talked around anyone besides Logic and me. It’s why we’re learning sign language, so we can understand him in case something happens.” 

“You are learning sign language?” Says Talyn in disbelief. 

“Dude, you flunked Spanish.” Reminds Joan. 

“Yes, I am, and I’ll have you know I’m getting really good at it too.” (This is a lie but Thomas isn’t about to admit that Logan is right and he has a ‘disturbing lack of skill regarding languages’.) 

Thomas decided to power on through his friend's lack of faith in his intelligence and continues with his story. “Anyway, I bought him literally five minutes after meeting him.” 

Talyn and Joan quickly stop picking on him and Thomas hurries to finish his explanation.

“He was being treated so horribly that Logic might have beat his owner to a pulp and I would have helped him. That guys was a fucking piece of work. He literally took Morality's shirt so when I bought him he wouldn’t even have the shirt on his back.” 

Joan and Talyn seem stunned at the prospect of someone being so cruel and Thomas finds his emotional state deteriorating rapidly. The fact such as a sweet and innocent guy was treated so horribly and cruel breaks his heart. The fact that someone as clever and independent as Logan was valued only for his ability to lift heavy objects and was tossed aside the second he couldn’t anymore enrages Thomas. It’s been far too easy for Thomas to forget what trauma his friends have been though when he sees them act so normal everyday. Talking about it now is somewhat shocking to Thomas. How could he ever have forgotten? Patton and Logan probably remember it everyday. Thomas is torn away from his thoughts when Joan’s voice pierces through the silence. 

“Thomas, if you ever need help with anything, even if it isn’t related to Morality or Logic, please let me know. I can’t believe I ever doubted you and said all that horrible stuff. I’m sorry I did, can you forgive me?” 

Thomas is about to answer when Talyn jumps in. 

“I...I can’t believe you went through all that. No wonder you bought them. And we were so horrible to you! Thomas I’m so sorry.” They say. 

Thomas is surprised by how many emotions suddenly flood him. He’s ...angry? Yes. Thomas is angry at his friends. He hasn’t realized it till now. Hearing their apologies sparks something bitter in him. ‘Damn right they should apologize.' Sure Thomas had said he would have done the same thing, but would he have? Thomas trusts his friends. He knows better than to think they would go off and buy someone for no good reason. Do his friends not feel the same way? He wants to forgive them, to say it’s all fine and move on, but deep down he’s hurt. He doesn’t want to sweep all this under a rug and pretend it never happened. Thomas is torn. 

“I- I need to- I’m sorry I gotta go get-” Thomas stutters over his words. ‘Where is Logan’s constant interruptions when you need them?’ Naturally Logan can’t interrupt since Thomas is in his house but it still would have been nice. 

“I need to go. Dinner is coming up soon and I promised I’d help Morality with it. I’ll let you guys know if something comes up or whatever. Gotta go, bye!” 

Thomas ends the call as fast as he can and tries to push the hurt expression he’d seen on Joan and Talyn faces, from his mind. He walks out his back door and slowly ambles his way towards the barn. He wasn’t lying about helping Morality but he may have stretched the truth on how close dinner time was but whatever. 

He needs the time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess this chapter is sort of a recap. (Partially just because I started this story months ago and I've forgotten some stuff from the beginning) but maybe some of you guys needed one too. I dunno. Any way, I'm sorry this was a bit late but I tried to make it longer to make up for it. As I always say, feel free to leave kudos/comments. I appreciate both and reading your comments really makes my day. 
> 
> Stay happy and healthy people! :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One or two curse words and a doctor visit.

**********************************************

Thomas checks his GPS one last time before he studies the building in front of him. ‘Yep, this is definitely the place.’ It’s one of the many buildings within the ‘Glenville Centaur Care Center’. 

Talyn and Joan had managed to find what seemed to be the only Centaur focused facility within the state. It was both a hospital and rescue center. Thomas had called them three days ago and been directed to Dr. Sheldon, who had agreed to look both Centaurs over. 

It had been hard to convince Logan and Patton (mainly Logan) that it was a simple exam to ensure they were healthy. Thomas wasn’t sure what they were worried about but he did his best to assuage their fears. 

“It’s just a check up. To make sure you guys are fine, I just want to be sure. Besides, you guys really need glasses.” Thomas had told them. 

Now that Thomas is pulling into the parking lot he is starting to feel anxious too. He’s in a Centaur Rescue Center and he isn’t sure how to feel about it. Mainly because he isn’t sure how Logan and Patton feel about it. There are a few Centaurs ambling about and he’s wondering if Patton or Logan have missed being around others of their own kind. 

Thomas wonders if he’s doing the right thing by keeping Logan and Patton with him. Sure he was doing the right thing when he bought them, but is it right for him to keep them? This is a place full of qualified people who specialize in injured, neglected and/or abused Centaurs. They can help Logan and Patton far more than Thomas can. The two Centaurs have been entirely isolated whilst living with Thomas and he’s wondering if he shouldn’t let them live here. Sign them over to the rescue center so they can be helped by people who actually know what they’re doing. 

Thomas resolves to watch Logan and Patton closely while they're here and ask them how they feel about the place later. For now he hops out of his truck and walks to the back of it to unlatch the back of his trailer. He puts down the ramp for Logan and Patton and they both slowly walk down it. 

Logan and Patton look all kinds of nervous. They look about suspiciously and stick close to one another. 

“C'mon guys. Dr. Sheldon’s office is in here.” Thomas tries to sound as calm as possible for their sakes. He leads the way to building B and opens the giant doors to let both Centaurs in. The waiting room is large and spacious, clearly built with centaurs in mind. All three friends stare around them with wonder. None of them have seen a room intended to fit Centaurs that wasn’t a barn. 

Thomas notes several large bean bags spread about the room and in between chairs. They are in various sizes but they are all bigger than any Thomas has ever seen. They’re all long too, more of a line than a circle. They honestly look like mattress sized beanbags. Thomas realizes they’re meant for Centaurs and he’s taken back by the genius of it. 

Patton seems to figure this out at the same time as Thomas and he rushes over to jump on one. He smiles with glee. Patton shuffles his knees a bit until he’s comfortable and then looks up at Logan, who’s been watching Patton critically. Patton pats the beanbag beside him in silent invitation. 

Logan just scowls at it and opts to stand stiffly nearby. Patton looks to Thomas instead. Thomas shrugs, because ‘why not? It’s a massive bean bag’, and gives a mighty leap to land on the one beside Patton. 

“Woah, this is awesome.” Thomas says. He stretches and tries to relax some. 

“I know! I didn’t even know they made these things. What are they called?” Patton asks while poking his seat.

“It’s called a beanbag but I’ve never seen one so huge before. I think these were made to be Centaur sized.” Thomas says while glancing over at Logan. Logan isn’t normally this quiet.

Logan is stiff as a board. He keeps glancing between the front doors and the hallway in an anxious way that suggests he’s expecting a three headed monster to charge through them at any moment. 

All three jump when the hall door opens and a woman steps out. She holds the door open while ushering a man and another Centaur through. The man thanks her, exchanges a few words and then walks out the front door with the Centaur in tow. 

Patton, Logan and Thomas are all torn between staring at the Centaur and then the woman holding the door. 

As soon as the man and the third Centaur leave the lady walks over to address them. 

“Hello, I’m Dr. Sheldon. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She holds her hand out to shake Logan's but he just stares, flabbergasted. She smiles kindly and waits patiently. Logan finally snaps out of whatever stupor he’d been trapped in and he gives her a brief, formal hand shake. He looks all kinds of unsettled.

Satisfied the Dr. walks to where Patton is doing his best to blend into his beanbag. She bends down and holds her hand out again with a sweet smile. Patton hesitated before giving her the quickest handshake Thomas has ever seen. He essentially pats her hand with his for a split second and then immediately drops it to curl farther into his seat. He avoids eye contact.

The Dr. then faces Thomas, who has pulled himself to his feet. (not without difficulty, the beanbag had sucked him in and he’d ended up rolling off in the most undignified manner) The smile she gives him a much less sincere one. 

“And you must be Mr. Sanders.” She says cooly.

Thomas cautiously shakes her hand and fights not to wipe off the disdain he feels crawling from her hand to his. Had he looked that stupid in the chair?

She clears her throat and heads back to the hall door she’d come from. She holds it open. 

“Shall we get going then?” She asks. 

The three friends look to each other hesitantly, unsure whom she is speaking to. 

Thomas shrugs his shoulders and the three walk to the Dr., who squints at Thomas. Thomas freezes, foot hovering over the carpet. 

“Not you.” She says. The bite in her words sting. “I see my patients alone. They deserve privacy.” 

Thomas immediately sits back on the beanbag. “Of course. I didn’t mean to-” 

“Then should you not be seeing the two of us separately?” Logan interrupts. 

“I wouldn’t want to leave one of you out here alone. You can both come in.” She says with another smile. Thomas imagines Logan is fighting back the urge to correct her again. ‘How could they be alone if Thomas is out here too?’

The Dr. is giving Thomas the distinct feeling that she doesn't like him and the scowl she throws his way solidifies that feeling. Logan is raising an eyebrow, looking unimpressed with her as she does. Patton doesn’t notice the looks on either of their faces from where he is nervously standing by the door, positioned so Logan is between him and the doctor. 

The Doctor turns back to the door and her voice is once again cheery as she speaks. “Alright then! Let's get going.” She gestures for them to walk ahead of her but neither Centaur moves. Patton begins signing to Logan in quick and jerky movements. Thomas can’t see what Patton is saying but Logan is nodding along in agreement. 

Logan clears his throat. “My friend and I would both be more comfortable if Thomas were to accompany us.” 

The doctor blinks in surprise. So does Thomas. “You want him to come too? Are you sure?” She asks, doubt evident in her voice.

“Yes. I am quite certain.” Logan’s voice is strong but Thomas can see him anxiously shuffling his feet. Patton isn’t able to hide his nerves nearly so well but he still manages a small nod. 

“Okay then…... if you two are sure.” The Dr. hesitates for another moment but when neither Centaur changes their mind she seems to accept their decision and turns so she’s facing Thomas. 

She isn’t looking at Thomas as coldly as she had before. She seems a little intrigued actually. “It seems like they want you to come along.” She doesn't have to say anything more because Thomas is already on his feet and hurrying over to stand besides Patton. 

Once Thomas has joined them the Dr. leads the way to a large examination room. Just like the waiting room, it is clearly Centaur sized. 

The room is big enough and the ceiling tall enough for Thomas to feel like a small child forced to go to the doctors again. He has an old, nearly forgotten urge to hide under the examination table. Except there aren’t any here. Because what sort of table would hold up a Centaur? Also, why would they need to be elevated in the first place? 

“Alright, who would like to go first?” The Dr. is busy setting up a projector as she speaks. 

Patton and Logan make eye contact and after a split second of hesitation Logan speaks. “I will go first.” 

The Dr. nods and once she has the projector set up to her liking she motioning for Logan to walk up beside her. 

“Alright, just stand behind the red line and tell me what the smallest letter you can see is. Oh- I’m sorry, can you read?” 

Thomas winces a little. Logan clearly is upset at the question but he manages to hold his opinions to himself, otherwise they may never leave. 

“Yes.” Logan grits between his teeth. 

“Good.” 

The Dr. then goes on to swap out screens and have Logan read out letter after letter and even though Thomas isn’t as close to the projector as Logan, he can still see just how many mistakes Logan is making once the letters become smaller. 

The Dr. goes on to have Logan do all sorts of tests. One if particular includes shooting a puff of air into his eyes and it scares all three of them half to death. Even though they’d been warned. 

Once Logan’s eye exam is over the Dr. gives him a bunch of papers and asks him to fill them out. Then she repeats the entire process over again with Patton. Thomas is curious about the paperwork but he leaves Logan to it in favor of comforting and translating for Patton. 

Once Patton is done the Dr. Sheldon goes to hand him the same paperwork but Logan grabs it away. 

“That is not necessary.” Logan says firmly. 

The Dr. looks up at Logan in surprise. For some reason she actually accepts that and takes the papers back. 

“Okay then. That’s about it. I’d like to talk to each of you individually before you leave though.” The Dr. says. 

Thomas had somewhat expected this so he just does as he’s told and leaves the room. Patton and Logan both stay since Logan is needed to translate and Dr. Sheldon doesn’t seem to mind talking to both of them at once. 

Thomas isn’t sure what they end up talking about but it only takes five minutes or so and then his friends are walking out. Patton looks nervous and upset, and while he had been continuously nervous since arrival, he definitely seemed more so now. 

Logan is clearly upset too but Thomas can see that his emotions are rooted more in anger as opposed to fear, like Patton. 

“Are you guys okay? What happened?” Thomas asks in concern. 

“We are fine Thomas. I believe we are just tired and would both like to leave as soon as is appropriate.” 

Thomas nods. He gets that. He can’t wait to be home either. He’s assuring them they will leave soon when the Dr. exits the examination room. 

“Mr. Sanders. May I speak to you for a moment?” 

Thomas nods and follows her back into the room. He motions for Logan and Patton to wait for him in the sitting room. 

“I have two prescriptions for glasses I’ll be sending in, they should arrive sometime soon and I can call you once I have a date.” 

“Okay sounds good. So there was nothing else wrong right?” Thomas asks, worried by her behavior. 

“I didn’t perform a full physical, and neither of them are sure if their shots are up to date, but from what I saw I can tell you that the shorter one is suffering from a good bit of anxiety, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. They said he can talk but he's too nervous. I assume this is true?” 

Thomas nods. 

“If that’s the case then he’s otherwise fine. The taller one is perfectly healthy too, although his scars aren't likely to fade.” 

“Scars?!” 

The Dr. looks a bit confused. “From the harness straps. I suppose they aren't all that noticeable, not if you aren’t looking for them. He informed me that you weren’t the one who harnessed him but if you ever decide to maybe try to use some padding. Other than that nothing stood out to me, though I’d like to do a full examination at some point.” 

Thomas nods. He really hadn’t noticed the marks left behind from the heavy harness Logan used to wear, not since the night he’d helped Logan remove his harness and cart all those months ago. He’d noticed them then. It occurs to Thomas that that had been the last time Logan had ever worn one. He would have thought the hair would grow back in but apparently it never would. Not entirely. Thomas supposed he didn’t notice because there was enough surrounding hair to cover up any blemishes without them being obvious. He wonders if Logan has noticed this and if it bothers him or if he’s so used to them he doesn’t even remember they're there. He thinks it would be rude to ask.

The Dr. interrupts Thomas’s musing when she hesitantly continues.

“Mr. Sanders, how much experience do you have with Centaurs?” 

“Uh, none before four months ago. Why? Am I doing something wrong?” Thomas is horribly worried. ‘I knew it. I fucked up something.’

“No, nothing like that.” She thinks for a minute. “I’m not going to lie Mr. Sanders. I had a very different opinion of you when you first set up this appointment. It’s clear I was wrong though. They seem to both trust you and I can’t say how rare that is. I want you to know if you ever need help with them, be it physical, mental or even legal, please let us know. We have resources and people who would love to help.” 

Thomas is taken back. He’s not surprised that she didn't originally like him. He’d figured out that much on his own. No, he’s actually surprised that she’s gone from mistrust /disdain, to ‘I’ll help you in anyway I can.’.

“I really appreciate the offer and I’ll definitely call if I need help.” A thought occurs to Thomas. “There is one thing actually.” 

The doctor looks intrigued by his tone of voice. He sounds slightly like he’s hatching an evil plan. 

“Where can I get some of those beanbags?” 

****************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, this is so late! Sorry about that. I had my wisdom teeth out last monday and it was really rough. I think I've been scarred for life, lol. 
> 
> Anyway, the show must go on! I hope you all liked this chapter, it was fun to write. Please don't hesitate to leave comments below, I'm happy to hear any criticism, ideas or thoughts you may have about my writing. 
> 
> Stay safe everyone and have a great day!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Description of injuries and broken bone/s   
> Not gore or or anything but heads up!

**************************************** 

Nice as the doctor was, all three take a breath of relief as soon as they exit the building. Thomas inhales as much as he can to take in the sweet smell of the outdoors. (That is to say the lack of strong smelling cleaning products all clinics have.) Thomas opens his eyes to see Logan and Patton making a beeline straight to his truck. It’s clear both Centaurs are eager to leave too. 

Logan is putting down the ramp, with Patton trying to help and mostly getting in the way, when a large vehicle, pulling a Centaur carrier, comes screeching into the parking lot. The tires have only just stopped spinning when three people come flying out the back. Two of them run towards the emergency entrance and the third begins pulling out the trailer ramp. 

A panicked voice carries out from within the Centaur carrier.

“No, no, no! I can still race! This is a minor setback, just a flesh wou- HOLY HELL THAT HURTS! Oh God! Has that been there the whole time!?!? Is that ME!? Legs should'nt bend that way. MY LEG SHOULDN’T LOOK LIKE THAT!!” 

The man pulling the ramp out quickly drops it and rushes back inside the carrier as it begins rocking a little. The voice carries on. 

“This is- This is bad. Oh my God, that's my leg. It shouldn’t look like that. OH MY GOD THAT’S MY LEG!!!!” 

They can now hear another voice attempting to calm the first. Thomas assumes it’s the man from before. 

“Calm down! You’re going to make it worse. Stop moving!” 

Thomas sees movement in the corner of his eye. He looks and sees Patton cautiously making his way to the trailer. Thomas isn’t sure if he should stop him or not. 

The first voice has drowned out the man's attempts to calm the situation. The panicked voice gets simultaneously louder and higher in pitch. Logan is wincing and his hands twitch upwards. Thomas has his jacket clenched tightly in his hands and is biting his tongue to stop himself from doing something. He isn’t sure what he would do, he just knows it wouldn’t be helpful. He almost wants to grab Logan and Patton and - ‘Where is Patton? Wasn’t he just here?’.

Patton has made his way right up to the ramp and is poking his head in. He gasps. And then he runs in. 

“Pat!” 

“What are you doing?!” Yell Logan and Thomas. They look to one another and then rush after their friend. 

Patton’s voice breaks through the pained rambling from before. 

“Oh you poor thing!” 

Thomas and Logan round the trailer to see Patton standing by a wild eyed Centaur. The Centaur is laying on his side and has himself pressed up against the trailer wall. He’s breathing unevenly and it’s clear he is in pain. 

Patton grabs his hand and pulls his gaze away from what Thomas guesses is a broken leg. (If all the yelling was anything to go by.) 

“C’mon kiddo, focus on me okay? Try to breathe. That’s it. You’re okay.” Patton’s voice is calming and soothing and seems to bring the Centaur back from the verge of a panic attack. 

The Centaur is now looking at Patton, flabbergasted, eyes still wide. The man pinning his leg is looking just as surprised. 

“Who are- what’s- is this-?” The Centaur stutters. Patton just continues patting his hand. 

Logan leans down to whisper to Thomas. “Patton is behaving as though he knows this Centaur but I do not believe he does. Is this a social interaction I am unaware of?” 

“No. I think it’s just a Patton thing.” Thomas whispers back. Thomas is a little worried Patton is going to get himself in trouble but the man beside him only looks relieved. Thomas supposes that makes sense. It hadn’t looked like he was having any success in calming the Centaur down and being in an enclosed box with a panicking Centaur is a terrifying prospect. 

The man throws a blanket over the broken leg which draws the Centaurs attention back to it. 

“But- But my leg! It’s broken! I can’t race like this! I don’t want to become a- What if I-?” The Centaur starts breathing heavy again and Patton grabs his face to force eye contact. 

“Nope. We aren’t thinking about that right now, kiddo. We are going to take deep breaths and stay calm until the doctor can help you. It’ll be alright. The doctors here are nice. I just met one and she was really kind so I’m sure they won’t hurt you.” 

As Patton is speaking the two men who’d run in the emergency room come rushing back out with three more men and an enormous stretcher. 

“Back away.” One yells as they reach the trailer. Thomas hurries in and pulls on Patton's arm.

“C’mon man, we need to get out of the way.” Patton is resistant until he sees the men and the stretcher. Then he allows Thomas to lead him away. 

The other Centaur panics again. 

“W- wait! Don’t go! Their going to-? What if- I can’t just-!” The Centaur pulls back further in the trailer as several people clamber in around him. 

“Alright you. We’re gonna get you up onto this stretcher okay? Now you can’t move your front legs so try to hold still.” 

Thomas, Logan and Patton stand far enough to be out of the way but close enough to see the unfolding drama. Patton is wringing his hands and Thomas winces at the look of pain that pinches the injured Centaurs face. 

The Centaur continues to babble but he can’t be heard over the directions the men are calling to each other. Thomas has no idea how they plan to get the Centaur out without him using his legs. Thomas can’t tell just how big the Centaur is but he is a good bit bigger than Patton for certain. Which means he is probably double his weight. 

The three friends watch the men struggle to find handholds out of range of panicked and very twitchy hooves. No one can seem to figure out how to lift the Centaur when he has one side pressed up against the wall, especially in the small, enclosed trailer. Had the Centaur been in a calmer state of mind he’d have most likely been able to help but he looks as if he’s barely restraining himself from fighting against them. ‘Restraining’ may not be the right word in this situation. Thomas is pretty sure the Centaur would be instinctively fighting back if he wasn’t too confused and blinded by pain to know how. He has his arms around himself and gives sharp gasps whenever someone jostles him hard enough to move his leg.

The men seem to settle on pushing more than lifting him. They lift what and where they can to try and alleviate the pain of the Centaurs skin being pulled and scratched by the trailer floor but there is only so much they can do. Thomas and Patton wince a little more with each cry of pain the injured Centaur gives. After a few moments of struggling the men manage to bring him to the edge of the trailer, where a few of them jump out of the truck to get better leverage. 

The stretcher is supported by sturdy looking wheels and they’ve pulled it up against the back of the truck so that it’s level. The men have begun attempting to push the Centaur off the truck and directly onto the stretcher, which would have worked better if the Centaur hadn’t been longways. Unfortunately the truck is too narrow to extract the Centaur sideways and the men are forced to prop his human half and front legs on the stretcher while rearranging themselves to bring out his lower (and far heavier) half. 

The three onlookers are disturbed to see that a broken leg is most definitely not the only injury on the poor Centaur. His whole front is scratched and, in some places, torn up. It sluggishly bleeds around the dirt and grime that is ground into his whole body. Thomas wouldn’t be surprised if his leg isn’t the only broken bone he has. He might need stitches too. Thomas shudders to think of the state his leg must be in for everyone to be overlooking the rest of his injuries like this. 

The Centaur yelps as the men try to push him further onto the stretcher. “Wait! Stop, stop, stop stop!” The men stop when they realize the Centaur isn’t budging from his spot. It looks as though whatever material the stretcher is made of does not have the same give the trailer floor did. They aren’t able to push or pull him. More than one of the men curses and as they step back to reassess the situation. 

That’s about the time Logan moves. He walks confidently to the truck and stands over the Centaur with a calculating look on his face. Everyone looks at him in surprise but he’s ignoring them. He grasps just under the Centaurs two front legs and lifts. 

“I suggest you all lift the lower portion on his body now.” Logan says. 

Logan's deadpanned voice breaks through the shocked silence and the men quickly move to obey. With the Centaur not laying flat on his side they are finally able to reach their hands under him and, in a joint effort, they heave him off the truck. Neither Logan or the men are able to lift the Centaur more than a few inches off the ground but it’s all they need in order to slide him entirely out of the truck and fully onto the stretcher. 

Five of the men quickly rush the Centaur into the Emergency Entrance and the remaining one walks around to the front of the truck with the keys in hand.

“Welp. That happened.” Thomas says, staring at where the Centaur and the men have disappeared into the hospital. After all the noise the silence is a little unsettling.

“Oh, that poor kid!” Patton says, shuffling his hooves and wringing his hands.

“Indeed. His injuries did look painful.” Logan agrees. 

What do you think happened?” Asks Thomas. He’s still a little dazed from the sudden start and then sudden lack of chaos. Everything had happened so fast. It hadn’t been more than ten minutes.

“He fell.” 

The sudden, unfamiliar voice startles them all. Logan and Patton jumping noticeably more than Thomas. They look and see the sixth man, preparing to close the trailer door.

“He was racing and he tripped. Tore himself up real good. Don’t suppose he’ll ever be racing again.” Says the man as he pushes in the ramp.

“Yeah, he seemed really concerned about that.” Patton observes.

“He should be.” The man huffs. “He’s of no use to anybody if he can’t race. Shame. He was good at it, probably could have kept going for a couple years.” 

The man shakes his head as though he’s personally disappointed and goes back to shutting the trailer doors. Thomas tries to digest what he said. ‘Not good for anything else? What will happen to him then?’ It’s a disturbing thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for Roman!!   
> He's finally here. And not having a very good time. Poor guy. I've never had a broken bone and God save me if I ever do. It's one of my worst fears. 
> 
> Anyway I hope it was somewhat clear that Roman was the injured Centaur but I don't really know if it was so sorry if it wasn't.   
> Feel free to (as in please do) leave comments/criticism and/or kudos! I love hearing your guys opinions on this story and a few of you have given me really good ideas. 
> 
> Have a great day and stay healthy!


End file.
